The Thief & the Heiress
by Fher34
Summary: His mission was simple: find the heiress,capture her, bring her to Konoah's HQs & then turn her in to her father for a healthy amount of ryo. But the easiest plans not always play out how you expect. Uzumaki surely didn't expect to fall for the same person he was sent to retrieve, that's for sure. "D-don't t-take me back!Don't t-take me!" Chap.5 "H-he'll punish me," she whispered.
1. Preface

**A/N: So I decided to translate my stories for the people who speak English :) This story, originally named "Ladr****ó****n en la Mira," was in my native language, so I will have mistakes and a few adjustments to fit the English format. Either way, Follow, Favorite, Review...Kill me XD I don't know, do as you may.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto. Kishimoto does.**

**Dedicated to AwesomeMeInHumanForm for getting me off my lazy butt and forcing me to translate this! **

* * *

_The Thief & the Heiress_

_Part 1: The Inception_

_Preface_

_Somewhere in Japan, 1990_

* * *

The night was rainy, cold, and not at all inviting.

Translucent raindrops fell quickly to the ground, creating a noise somewhat bearable on the roofs of the humble homes in the outskirts of the nearest town. The tap tap tap of the rain seemed like it could go on forever and ever.

Suddenly, a beam of light dazzled the narrow passage in which a black-haired young woman of perhaps seventeen years of age, ran in a fugitive way with heavy steps, close to the point of collation.

Her breathing was raspy and very agitated; it was obvious that she had run for a while. Her clothes were dirty with thick soil and clung to her body like a second layer of skin, full of water, sweat, and the faint smell of expensive perfume, which was by now slowly fading away, leaving only the odor of pine-needles and earthly moss behind. A bag, tied tightly to her small waist by the straps, bumped with each of her steps, striking again and again against her left leg.

Anyone would have thought that this girl with pearl-colored eyes and fair skin was beyond insane for running in the middle of a storm, but she didn't see their opinions as important, because she had her reasons for doing what she was doing, and there was no one who would be able to understand. So why waste her time thinking about something that didn't matter? The only solid thing on her mind was to get away, run as far as she could from her old life, and never look back. The only things her weary brain could produce were orders to her legs, which weakened more and more with each step.

Finally, she couldn't move a step farther. She had to stop or else she would die of exhaustion before she could escape the claws of her _prestigious_ family. Hyuuga Hinata ceased her run, and her emaciated muscles become jelly, shaking and barely holding her weight up. She gasped loudly for breath and tried to stop the burning of her lungs. She licked her dry lips, tasting the cooling drops of liquid with her tongue, and almost cried with relief when her parched throat eased a bit. Quivering, she raised her hand to wipe her bangs away from her eyes and almost lost her balance when she let go of the wall she was using for support.

Almost an entire week in the run could do that to anybody, and running overnight, part of the wee hours of the morning, and sleeping during the hours in which the sun shone, was hard. The darkness had become her accomplice, and the moon in her guider; the trees in her hiding spots and the rain in her source of water. Ironically, Hinata preferred to live that way than to go back to the luxurious life she had lived in a week ago. She had changed her exquisite dresses made out of imported fabrics for men's trousers and long, baggy shirts; her beautiful hairstyles for an unkept, rural braid that ran down to her waist like a coiled snake.

Yes, living like a runaway was better than to put up with everything a rich life had made her suffer, and with a father who was sick and uncaring, cruel and torturing. If she had the option of going back or staying where she was, she would've choose the latter. Anything was better than to be living in that man's domains.

Hinata tried to breathe deeply once her frantic gulps of air slowed down, but it was harder than she'd expected. Her heart beat fast, as if it wanted to get be ripped out of her chest by force and pure will and her ribs bit into her lungs sharply every time her chest moved.

_Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Her head pounded restlessly inside her small skull, forming an unimaginable pain at her temples. Her cheeks were colored red with heat, and while the low Fahrenheit degrees of the rain appeared to be keeping her body temperature even out, the fever running through the teenager's system was stubborn and refused to leave.

Hinata sighed carefully as another flash of light, loaded with blue fire, spread across the pitch-black sky. A few seconds later, the shaking of thunder rumbled the surface with deafening groans. Letting out a mouthful of air once again, Hinata readied to take off and continue with what she was doing and ignored her weary physical state..

She had to put more distance between _them_ and her, and quickly. Because, as much as she wished it weren't true, she knew her father would send people after her. She _knew_ it, and that was why she had to get out of Japan.

But fate had other things awaiting her and a certain blond was about to step into her way that stormy night.

"Huh," Hinata closed her eyes and grounded her teeth to bite down a cry of frustration when her body refused to move. "I think ... I won't be able to run anymore," she told herself as one of her knees buckled under her. With her last strength, she sat down heavily on a fat plastic bag (filled with trash, or something, she didn't really care,) that was in the alley and which she used as comforter. Resting her head against the wall behind her, and closing her opaque eyes momentarily, she thought that maybe if she rested a bit, she would later regain enough strength to continue."Just ... a few minutes …" the young beauty whispered.

In that instant, she forgot the furious rain falling, the intense heat taking over her and which refused to let her be, the worries of being found again by her family, the endless cold, and her nagging hunger. Oh, the hunger. When had been the last time she had tasted solid food?

But food, though not far away from her priorities, wasn't her main focus; all she thought about was freedom, the impossible things she would do _when_ she got out of Japan and into the United States, because she was going to leave for sure. It all seemed so close, just in the reach of her fingertips, yet so out of hand it was laughable. She knew she could do it, she was smart enough to find a way, she just needed to rest for a little while first...

Suddenly, a strong arm took her by an aching shoulder and shook her awake.

The indigo-haired girl reached blindly and tried to push the something (or the someone) that was causing her so much trouble away as a pained scream ripped through her unused throat. The something took her by the shoulders, most likely to calm her down, but Hinata wasn't thinking; her brain was too busy being paranoid to perhaps realize that someone was merely trying to wake her up and not capture her.

In the distance, she managed to hear a voice cursing in French repeatedly when in a reflex of self-defense, her fist connected with someone's face, creating a painful _crack _that couldn't begin to compete with the loud clap of thunder being emitted from the chaotic heavens.

Her eyes, now open but panicked, widened and she blinked to make sure she was seeing properly when the scene in front of her began to take shape.

A tall figure sat on the ground in front of her, holding his nose in his hand, which was bleeding, and fussing in a language she couldn't understand . He looked shocked and very, _very_ pathetic sitting there with his butt in a puddle of water.

Hinata looked incredulously at her left hand, which just then began to turn a reddish color. The Hyuuga girl was pretty sure that the tiny spot would later became a big, purple bruise. She stared at it for a second and then,without warning, she started to laugh like crazy maniac.

The young stranger looked at her with confusion and anger written all over his dirty face, his shock obviously worn out as the girl's soft giggles pierced his ears.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he tried to scream and demand simultaneously, but as he still had his hand over most of his face, and his nose had yet to stop with its bleeding, what actually came out was "Wot da shell hish wrunged shu?!" but it didn't matter because the cause of his pain wasn't listening.

All the stress of the week, the concerns, the lack of sleep, the fatigue, and the constant pressure of being found, fell on her at once like a three-story house, and Hinata's laughter turned to uncontrollable sobs. The boy's eyes widened as he witnessed the swift turn of emotions, dumbfounded. Never in his life had he been in front of a girl crying like a madwoman out of a mental hospital and, big surprise right there, he didn't know what to looked around in alarm, thinking that maybe someone else could take charge so he could get away but to his great dismay, there was no human in sight.

"Hey," he said, but sounding more like "phey." He jumped to his feet and ignored the throb coming from his backside. Approaching, he lifted the girl's chin with the one hand that didn't cover his face, angling her face to look at him.

The girl looked up slowly. And out of the blue cried, "Too close!"

The fair-haired man, so taken aback by her action, shouted back in response as the girl fell off the bag she had used as, apparently, her bed, and directly to the hard and cold muddy soil, hitting her backside so hard her teeth rattled.

The young Uzumaki was left speechless for a few seconds (for he couldn't believe that his damn luck was to bump into a young woman, that besides pretty, was in the world of maniacs, and that was beyond repair), but frowning, he crouched to her eye-level and annoyed to death he asked, "What is your _problem_?" He wiped the blood as best as he could with the sleeve of his black shirt and glared down at the cowering girl below him.

Said girl opened her mouth to answer, but no explanation came out of her mouth. She was shaking so badly Naruto cocked his head to the side, a blond eyebrow raised in inquiry.

He blinked. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well," he said in concern, though his voice still held a tone of mild accusation.

"I ..." she whispered breathlessly.

The blue-eyed man looked at her with a stare that could start fires, so intense were those orbs that Hinata's voice left her. She snapped her mouth close and nodded her head yes. She wanted him to leave her alone, and to tell him that aloud so he could vanish, but her numb lips refused to form the words necessary. The stranger continued observing her, his gaze littering on her pale face, waiting for her answer, but suddenly, as if someone had turned a switch in his head, he realized something else. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the girl before him and took a really good, almost calculating, look at her for the first time.

A tight braid holding a long and luxurious mix of dark hair, bangs fashioned in a princess cut; two shaped tufts and a heart-shaped face with delicate cheekbones. A leather bag, not very big, was tied to shapely hips; a narrow waist so small he could circulate it with both hands, and which despite being hidden under loose clothing, could still be seen in all its entire and sexy glory. Her face was stained with dots of mud and she looked dead on her feet (or well, behind). A pair of lush black lashes had hid her eyes at first, but now, even with the little light that the lightning in the distance donated, were exposed and reflected back at him like liquid mercury.

His breath caught in his throat and he couldn't help but gape.

The girl's eyes...those eyes... those eerily tinted eyes could only belong to _her_.

"The Hyuuga heiress."

* * *

_Flashback_

_**1 Week Prior**_

_**Tokyo, Japan 1990**_

* * *

It was the middle of the night and all the people in the city slept peacefully.

Well, almost all the people.

A golden-haired boy peeked around the corner, waiting for the signal his black-haired friend was supposed to give him.

The guy's body shook with adrenaline, with the electrifying rush of doing something dangerous and getting away with it. It was a unique feeling. It was ... pure happiness and excitement. A shadow took his attention right then and a light whistle, like a night-bird, filled the air.

Uzumaki Naruto smiled. Maybe he didn't know who he was stealing at this time, or for whom specifically the money and merchandise were directed to, but there was one thing he was certain of : he loved his work.

Getting off the roof where he had been for the past three minutes, he came face to face with a familiar pair of jet-black eyes, which were always looking at him with contempt, but were now focused and a little excited, much like his own.

Uchiha Sasuke looked at the blond and nodded at the bags he carried with valuable items inside that were obviously worth his precious time, because the last family member of the Uchiha never bothered to do anything that wouldn't benefit him. However this work, their only mission in the month, was specially good.

"You finished?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Hmph," Sasuke huffed in annoyance, as if he couldn't believe his companion was asking that question again. "What did you expect, stupid? Of course I am done. The security system of the mansion was not as good as I had anticipated. It was a crappy piece of technology." With a smile on his face, the raven-haired boy threw one of the bags at his partner's chest, none too gently, and took off before Naruto could scream his head off and begin with their famous I-Insult-You-You-Insult-Me-Let's-See-Who-Wins war.

"Maybe you just got lucky," Naruto replied, slightly irritated by the superior attitude his partner always acted with and barely controlling the bad name he had at the tip of his tongue. Like a good thief, or, actually, a smart thief, Naruto followed after Sasuke to the exit route. "The family is not even at home, that just made it easy for you, so don't be bragging, teme. And let me remind you that we are still within the property, and the watchdogs are not going to stay asleep for long now, so don't count on your victory just yet," said the blue-eyed teenager.

"I thought I told you to take care of them while I took out the group of poor-excuse-of-guards out of our way," Sasuke said patiently, as if speaking to a child of five.

"And I did!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. "I would have loved to take care of the 'useless' men wearing pretty and ironed uniforms, but instead, I ended up knocking out a herd of dogs that wanted to have me for dinner and preventing their rabid bites! They had some seriously big fangs, ya know," he said ominously to his childhood friend, who simply bumped him on the head in return,_hard_, leaving one seriously sore immature Uzumaki.

"That hurts!" he exclaimed.

"Enough, Naruto, we have no time for this. Hurry your butt up, we have to deliver this" – he shook the bag he was carrying and pointed to the other that his friend was holding-" to Kakashi before 3 A.M. That was the deal. "

"Yes, yes, I know." With a sigh, Naruto increased his pace and started running along with Sasuke, passing the unconscious guards, the tall iron gate of the mansion, and leaving behind a house Naruto thought never to see again in his life, but said house did not belong just to anybody. It belonged to Hyuuga Hiashi, president of one of the few oil companies in Japan, head of one of the most powerful and wealthiest families in the country, and the father of the woman the blue-eyed blond would come to love.

A woman fate was not going to go ahead and play nice with, and whom was going to go head-to-head with the blond in the future.

* * *

**So yeah, I know it's not much, but it was supposed to be a small portion :P Sorry for the crappy translation!**

***Don't forget to tell me your review! :D 'cause they totally make my day!**

**Revised: 8/18/13**


	2. Chapter 1: Encountering a Thief

**Chapter 1: Encountering a Thief**

_**1 Week Prior**_

_Setagaya-ku, Japan_

_1990_

The cellar was the hiding in plain sight. Or, to be a bit more precise, under a store.

Said store was located in the Kanto region of Tokyo with a total area of fifty-eight point zero two kilometers square and housing a population of about 836,000 people. A nice place, really, close to the capital and to the sea, which brought good salty air and nice weather when it pleased.

The place was humble and very organized if you went in for a look (and it wasn't thanks to the owner, you realized right away as your eyes caught the sight of a man sitting on a bar stool, staring with an expression of infinite boredom as a girl of about fifteen scrubbed the floor like crazy with an old rag).

Customers usually passed by the small building sited at the corner of one lonely street without giving it a second glance, perceptibly uninterested in what its patrons had to sell. The epic failure of popularity, however, made the owner very, very happy, even though the fact of not winning the people's favor would've been ironic in normal circumstances.

And if you're reading this now, and you are wondering why the boss was in such a mood when business was noticeably going down (and fast), well, here's the answer to your question: the reason why he was so cheerful was because if no one was interested in what he had to sell, then it meant he was doing a great job of staying out of the line of fire. In other words, his black market made up of global thieves and illegal traders was very safe and far from being found, or even suspected. Well, for now, anyway, because the boss knew that nothing stayed hidden forever.

Hatake Kakashi couldn't help escape a small grin, though.

If people knew what we have here ... they would take a big surprise, he thought, amused by the idea of the scandal that would break all over Japan if the Organization of Konoha was discovered and reveiled by the government.

Kakashi was a man of about thirty years of age, and even though that age was rather young, he had a mane of silver hair. He wore a thin black mask that mysteriously hid most of his face, leaving only a small part of his right side in plain view, and the clothes he wore didn't really matter to the people who'd stood in his presence and survived, for the man caused so much curiosity and intrigue that he could've walked in his underwear and they wouldn't have noticed.

In his hand he held a book that had a green-colored cover with a very famous Greek statue in thoughtful pose with crossed hearts in clouds displayed quite dramatically. And, to say the least, it was a pretty pathetic cover, which made the onlooker wonder about its contents.

Abruptly, the door leading to his small office at the back of the store started to open and two individuals carrying something on their shoulders tried to enter without knocking or asking for permission, but before they succeeded completely, a girl, with short brown hair and dark eyes to match, was standing in their way and keeping them for entering, quietly scolding them for "daring to come in like that without manners!"

"Come on, Matsuri. Don't ruin the rest of my night with your admonishment," a male voice replied in reproach. "I'm tired and I want to finish this job once and for all. Now, get out of my way." And with that said, he opened the door wide and went in, tossing aside the light-weighted girl who had denied him entry a few seconds ago. His blond companion let out an uncomfortable laugh and apologized for his friend's behavior to the ex-Suna agent, which was scowling at the dark-haired boy with a look that could kill anyone, especially the Uchiha,) before also following suit and stepping inside.

Kakashi sighed but didn't turn to watch them invade his office. He didn't bother to hide his reading since he already knew who those two were and had waited for them for over an hour now. Raising a fingerless-gloved hand, he shook his finger in a no-no manner. "Both rude and late," he said vaguely, his eyes still glued to the pages in front of him. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hmph," was all the dark-haired boy with blue highlights had to say as he threw what he had carried on the table. The bag fell in front of the silver-haired man with a light _thud_.

Naruto, meanwhile, decided to add with a little indignant voice, "Eh?! You are telling us _we_ are late? You have no right to claim that! You are the one who's always delayed for more than three hours just because you happened to 'get lost in the path of life'!" mimicked the hyperactive blond. "At least this teme and I have an original excuse."

Kakashi feigned curiosity, making his one visible eye widen dramatically, creating a look that gave him a diabolical appearance; icy chills rolled down the big-mouthed guy's back and he started to regret his earlier words.

"Do you now?" the older man asked with a tone that was just as malevolent as he looked. "Do enlighten me with your excuse. And it better be good, because the last time you were late, you made up a very unconvincing one that ended up costing us."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he remember that ugly and nasty experience. He shivered inwardly. Noooo, he didn't want to remember that. Everything but that!

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, knowing that bringing _that_ up set his former student on edge.

"Well?"

Naruto, kicked out of his unpleasant thoughts, quickly went down to the matter at hand. "It was the teme's fault!" he was quick to accuse. Behind him, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He was supposed to take care of all the guards in the mansion and he didn't do the greatest job. One of the men wearing the nice uniforms either woke up earlier than the others or the teme didn't get to him at all because the next thing we know, the cops are after us and we are running for our lives!"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest while Naruto ranted on and on about how he and Sasuke had to avoid being shoot by mere inches, blah, blah, blah. The leader of the boys wasn't really listening. He knew the blond guy was dramatic and that running away from the law wasn't new to him at all. So why bother to tell?

Once the blond's air supply came to an end, Hatake saw his chance and took over.

"I don't see you guys in jail, nor in the hospital at the moment. That must mean that the job got done, yes?" he semi-asked, semi-stated, eying the bags in front of him.

"Yes," replied Sasuke in a dead voice, noticeably bored by the whole thing. "The mission was completed, as you can see. Now, if you do not mind, I'm leaving. I have better things to do right now."

Naruto looked at him like the idiot he was. Didn't anybody care that he was almost shot by the freaking Tokyo police? Apparently not because Sasuke was already heading for the door and his former teacher was taking the bags sitting patiently in front of him, opening them to see what they contained, and nodding his satisfaction for a mission well done.

Naruto had no idea what the bags contained, and he decided not to ask. The last time he'd stolen something out of one rich guy's house and seen what the package contained, it had turned up to be the same book Kakashi sensei was reading just a few moments ago.

Yeah, not to best of experiences, mind you.

"Good. Oh, and before you leave, I have a mission that would pay at least four times more than the one you've done tonight..." he began in a very sneaky tone Naruto didn't like at all.

The man sighed dramatically, the paint of perfect disappointment openly displayed. "But, all right, if you don't want to hear an old man talking about these kinds of missions, or you are simply not interested, I can always send Kiba and Shino along with Matsuri..."

"Hey, hey!" Naruto interrupted him quickly. "Don't draw conclusions on your own, _old man._ I never said I was out."

Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly, pretended to inspect his non-existing nails, and said, "I'm just saying. After all, neither of you look willingly enough to do it..." His eyes fixed themselves once more in his little reading, the worthy items now gone from sight.

"Four times?" asked a voice at the door.

Naruto pouted and turned to look at Sasuke. "Hey, you said you weren't interested teme! You have better things to do, right? So that makes this mission mine," declared the young blond with a big smile. "Ooonly mine."

"I never _said_ anything, Naruto. And wait a minute," his dark, onyx eyes narrowed when he recalled the dobe's tone in his declaration. "Are you challenging me?" roared a very angry raven-haired seventeen-year old.

"And what if I am, emo boy?

"What the hell did you just called me, dobe?"

"Are you going deaf or something? Because I'm not repeating what I said." Naruto folded his arms, pretending to ignore his dark-haired friend and rival glaring daggers at him.

"Look, mentally retarded, you'd better take your words back, and you'd better do it, before you regret speaking them out loud!"

"Hmph!"

"Or are you afraid to tell me things directly to my face?" Sasuke's expression turned triumphant and an arrogant smile formed on his lips before turning into a dark smirk.

"That I what?" shouted Naruto, stunning Kakashi, who was sitting with an expression of defeat and annoyance as he watched the Ping-Pong match above his book between his two former students. "I ain't scared of you! Not even in your sweetest dreams, teme!"

As the two continued their series of insults, their leader couldn't help but feel a case of momentary depression coming his way. _I'm surprised they're still both still alive... but it would not surprise me to find these two hollow-heads dead and buried by their own hands in the near future._

"Stop it, guys …"

"Ha! You don't even know what being a thief is really about!"

"What is it you're trying to say, arrogant Uchiha?"

"Boys, that's enough..."

"If your chicken brain can't analyze what I said, then that mere fact proves my point!"

"Sasuke baka! If you are daring to imply that I'm an knucklehead, you are very mistaken!"

Sasuke was about to yell a little more and give Naruto another piece of his mind when he was interrupted by Kakashi.

"BOYS!"

The two teens turned to the source of the loud command with their mouths still open, ready to shoot more immature comments at each other. Immediately, and with more than a little childish rivality, they pointed at each other. "He started it!"

A drop of sweat ran down Kakashi's temple comically. "I have yet to tell you about this mission and you _girls_ are already fighting for it like two babies for the same new doll. It seems your relationship hasn't changed in the last two years you've been away from one another. And though, yes, it's normal for you two to fight like that every day, I must admit the funny effect is fading off. And let me tell you this now: if you guys are going to act like that, you'd better consider this job taken by another group."

The two thieves turned their backs on each other but didn't say anything else.

"Now, listen." Naruto and Sasuke looked at him intently; Kakashi's tone had changed to one of lethal seriousness and both of them decided that if they wanted to fight later, so be it, but to better pay attention to their leader right then because what they were about to hear was real business.

"The heiress of the family that you just robbed of what they once took without any right, has gone missing."

"Missing?" Naruto questioned, his voice requiring more details.

"How?" Sasuke seconded him.

"As you know, the Hyuuga family wasn't home today, and won't be for a few more days. In this instant they must be in a city located approximately five hundred miles away from here, due north" he began, looking at the boys, who nodded their heads in acknowledgement. "During the trip, the transportation where the daughters of Hyuuga Hiashi, Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Hanabi, traveled in suddenly ceased to work properly about 15 minutes before the 2000 hours of yesterday. Because night was approaching and there was no motels near by, the bodyguards taking care of the heiress and her sister took up positions outside the car. Nevertheless, when aid finally arrived at about 2100 hours, the guards were lying on the floor, all unconscious, as well as the driver and the younger daughter, Hanabi. "

"And the girl, Hinata?" Sasuke prompted even though a very possible idea was already taking shape in his head. His theory was proved when Kakashi looked at him knowingly and simply nodded. Naruto also had thought and analyzed the same thing, for his next words were full of realization.

"That means that the heiress took the opportunity to escape as they moved into a new location," he summarized, though somewhat confused by the girl's unknown reasons for leaving and knocking everyone who would've become an obstacle out cold.

"Hmm," murmured the Uchiha. "But why would she do that? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to be kidnapped instead?" he asked, voicing one of Naruto's doubts and his own, as he crossed his arms and rested his dead weight on a neighboring wall. Damn, he was exhausted. "I mean, that girl has it all; a good house, good social class. I don't simply believe that she decided to live in the streets where hunger roams. The economy hasn't been very productive these last years, and a life as a runaway is not easy to archive. Especially when that person trying to survive is a woman."

"For what my sources tell me, Hinata learned how to defend herself since she was a little girl, so fending for herself won't be much difficult. Her father taught her and her sister the secret arts of fighting techniques, or so is said among our people. Do _not_ assume that Hinata is defensless because of her gender," Hatake warned. "And a kidnapping is what the Hyuuga family will use as a form of cover. " He gave his former apprentices his famous one-eyed smile, though if he wasn't wearing his usual mask, they would have noticed how sarcastic it was. "However, my reports tell me that the relationship between Hinata and Hiashi is very tense and is smart to say that she has escaped away from him on purpose and that Hiashi knows that all too well. Right this moment, she must be in the streets and in hiding."

"Sooo... you want us to find her?"

"Not specifically, Naruto, but a part of the plan does requires it."

Sasuke shook his head, one finger tapping his chin in deep thought. "I don't understand," he said. "Why is she important to us? What do we gain from this job? What's the real purpose, Kakashi?"

"Like you are already aware of, the Hyuuga family is important to the Japanese government and economy for holding a lot of Japan's petroleum, a natural resource that is scarce here, making it very valuable. Hyuuga Hiashi is going to make the public see what happened to his daughter as abduction and not for what it really is. I'm sure Hiashi will prefer to say that his guards are completely useless and that he'll make sure to change that instead of shouting from the rooftops that he can't control his daughter, much less his perfect industry, and thus ruin his reputation of president of one of the country's most important industries."

Sasuke's eyes widened, but just a little. "Blackmail," he declared.

Kakashi smiled mockingly and gave him a round of applause. "Very good, Uchiha."

Naruto just frowned and echoed, "Blackmail?" He was clueless and wondering what the heck he had just missed while looking between the Hatake and the Uchiha, who was by now into his usual brooding. It was obvious to everyone that knew him that he wanted to leave. Or that he was thinking very deeply.

Luckily for Naruto, Kakashi was feeling compassionate and explained, "Yes, Naruto. Blackmail will be out tactic this time. The first phase of this operation is to get the Hyuuga heiress out of wherever she's hiding and the second to call Hiashi and trick him into believing that his daughter will create a chaos out of his name in all Japan and global countries where he's known at."

"Ahh," Naruto said brightly. But then he frowned again. " And how will you fool him?"

"You'll see; don't worry about that now. The third step is to negotiate for a fair amount of money in exchange for the girl's silence, and BAM! We'll be done."

Naruto narrowed his bright eyes in thought. "For some unknown reason, I have the strong feeling you are making this sound easier than it actually is..."

"Sensei," interrupted the black-haired agent. "You told us that Hiashi would make this pass as a kidnapping, and knowing how people as popular as him give some sort of recompense for these sort of cases, that means more people will be also in the lookout like Konoha. Am I right?" asked Sasuke, already knowing the answer and smirking lightly at Naruto for catching on the competence before him. The blond scoffed softly and ignored his black-haired teammate.

Kakashi smiled once again. "You guessed right!"

"That means we have to hurry," Naruto proclaimed. He coulnd't wait to get the new job done! With the money, he would be able to complete the amount of cash needed to go back to France...and to find a detective...

"Relax, Naruto. No haste here," Kakashi said, leaning back in his chair and ipening his book where he'd left off. "Like I mentioned before, the incident happened yesterday night, which makes it about seven hours ago. We still have a bit of time. Now, why don't you go home and sleep for a few hours? Your mission to the Hyuuga mansion took you guys three days of operation and research, and by the looks on your faces, you guys didn't get any sleep," he noted. "Your trip, along with Sasuke and Kiba, starts tomorrow at noon, so be ready by then!"

Naruto nodded and left the office, plans and ideas forming in his head while he thought about what he was going to do after this new mission was over. He couldn't wait.

**5 Days Later**

Just like Kakashi had commanded, the next day the three childhood companions left their homes to the town Kiba's investigation had led him. Said brunette had taken the freedom to track down the Hyuuga's scent immediately after having learned the night before of the mission he would carry out in company of a silent, stoic Uchiha, and a loud, passionate Uzumaki.

It was quite an unusual team, but fighting their difference (or, in Kiba's and Naruto's case, their likeness,), the trio worked properly and efficiently. Most of the time.

For five days they looked, but either the heiress was too good at playing hide and seek and keeping her whereabouts concealed, or Kiba and his giant dog were tracking losers, because at the end of the fifth day, the only two clues they had encountered were a very fine purple kimono lying in the mud and black cap.

"What do you guys think was going through that girl's head anyway?" Naruto wondered aloud one day, his eyes watching a few gray clouds invade the once cloudless autumn sky, his hands at the back of his head.

Sasuke granted him no answer, but Kiba did.

"No idea. If I'd been in her place, I would've been contented with what I had and stayed there without complaining," replied the young man with brown hair and red, fang-like marks running down on both cheeks. He claimed they were his clan's tattooes, and that only the strongest clan members were allowed to use. Not that Sasuke and Naruto too his word for it, but the guy keep on saying otherwise, so eventually the blond and his friend gave up on teasing him, though the Uchiha had later denied the traits of such childish behavior.

"Although, her actions do gives us the perfect excuse to earn some good money," the Inuzuka continued, a smirk adorning his lips. "And besides," he added, looking down at something that resembled a piece of a sheet thicker than paper. "This rich girl doesn't look bad at all. She has an amazing figure and some nice bre-" he was cut off by Sasuke's own personal cold look powerful enough to freeze sll over the Sahara. Kiba cleaned his throat and, ignoring the chill running down his spine that told him to choose his words or they might be the last, proceed with care. "I wonder which side of the family she inherited them from." He paused for a second, eyes narrowing with mischief, and then started to laugh for no apparent reason whatsoever, though his white dog, Akamaru, barked in agreement. Not that the dog was telepathic and somehow shared thoughts with his owner, but because Akamaru was loyal and always agreed with whatever stupidity Kiba came up with.

The blond didn't mind his silly comments once in a while, but when Kiba turned personal, now that's when the real issue began.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation but didn't comment. Naruto, on the other hand, glanced over Kiba's shoulder to see what he was referring too.

"Huh?" he murmured, uncomprehending. Then he caught sight of what the Inuzuka was talking about. "YOU HAD A PHOTO AND YOU DIDN'T SHOW IT TO ME?! What the hell? Why didn't I get to see it earlier?!"

"Quiet down, man," Kiba exclaimed. " I didn't know you had yet to see it. What do I look like to you, a fortune teller? A mind-reader? Didn't Captain Kakashi give you a chance to take a good look?"

"Beh," said the blond indifferently, snatching the image out of Kiba's hands. "He sent me to rest after I came back from a mission with the teme last night and delivered the merchandise to him. After that I went to sleep because I hadn't slept for three whole days, ya know..." his voice faded as he looked at the young woman in the photograph that he had taken away from his friend so rudely.

The girl in front of him had long, dark hair with a tinge blue-violet, arranged in a sort of hair-do that looked a extremely complicated. When the image had been captured, it was obvious that the girl had been oblivious at the moment her picture was taken because her gaze was directed to something, or someone, to her right. Her lips were a shiny and healthy pink, a soft smile hanging on them, and although she looked shy with a tint of red on her cheeks at a time, she looked a little sad. The fingers of her hands were tightly intertwined in front of her and yes, she had one womanly body. The photo showed her from all the way down to her hips, up to her small waist, and the rest of her until the top of her head. In all, she was a beauty.

But what really caught the attention of the blond was her eyes, large and expressive. The strangest thing was that they contained no pupil, but a soft-looking texture that reminded him of a lilac pearl shinning under clean water. At first he thought he was seeing wrong, but when he looked again, he concluded that the girl really had no pupil. It was just like a crystalline surface, and though someone with pale eyes might have look a little weird, the coloring of the girl suited her perfectly. Almost too perfectly, if he said so himself. Her dark hair against ivory skin created a lovely contrast against the lavender hues of her unique eyes, successfully and effortlessly bringing them out.

Naruto couldn't help but feel how a scorching heat traveled all over his face.

"Jeez, no wonder you didn't feel like sharing her picture with us, " was what he told Kiba, only to realize that no one walking by his side and that his companions were leaving him behind like the dobe he was.

"H-hey guys, wait for me!"

Present Time

**17 Minutes Before Hyuuga Hinata Decided (Unconsciously) That An Introduction is Properly Given by Breaking Somebody's Nose & 16.56 Minutes Before Uzumaki Naruto Learned (the Hard Way) That He Can't Just Go Around Waking People Up in Such An Aggressively Manner If He Wanted the Keep His Precious Nose From Ever Breaking Again.**

That night, Naruto Uzumaki had a very annoying predicament: he couldn't sleep.

The rain had gone mad tumbling and falling all night long since eight PM last evening but that couldn't possibly be what bothered him,was it?

Nah, it couldn't be, he decided as he stood up from his bed and laid his feet on the floor of the motel room he, Kiba, and the teme, had rented for the night.

He scratched the back of his neck, brushing the tips of his finger across one of his seals unconsciously, and sighed in defeat, looking around the darkened room only to see shadows dropping from the walls as the natural electricity outside decided to bolt the earth again, strong enough to penetrate through the curtains.

He had always been a light sleeper but never had the sound of rain and extreme lightning falling from the furious sky upset him. And now, for some unknown reason, he couldn't shut his eyes. They kept refusing to stay close, and it was becoming more than a little annoying. Tomorrow he had thing get done! He had to keep on looking for the Hyuuga girl, and there was a big prospect that he wouldn't get a chance to sleep for the next two days, so what was holding him up?

_Well, I'm awake now, so might as well start doing something useful around here…_

But useful stuff, like refilling his water supply and cleaning his mess weren't calling his attention much, so without thinking, and with nothing much to do (according to him), he left the place he was staying at the moment and got out of there without noticing that a black-haired teenager watched him from afar from his place in the corner.

Naruto began to walk around the town without caring that it was raining and without his waterproof coat, which he later came to regret. Instead, he thought about the scans Kiba had done after their team met with some Suna trackers, who by the looks of it, has also been behind the heiress's trail, and meditated, trying to see a pattern in the girl's movements.

According to Kiba and Akamaru, the Hyuuga girl couldn't be far away from their current location, and just as Kakashi had informed them, she'd escaped on foot and the unusual trio was close enough to reach Part 1 of Kakashi's strategy. Sasuke had later on added that he couldn't sense her anywhere in the cities they'd come across, so it was likely for them to find her soon, for the heiress couldn't possibly move as fast as they did.

He looked up at the purple and blackish sky and decided to return the way he'd come after getting completely soaked through. He had no choice, really. He had to get out of that weather or kiss his health good-bye.

When a ray of light lit up the alley he walked by, a big lump caught his attention instantly.

He look around but the streets were empty (well, duh! Who in their blessed mind would be stupid enough to take a stroll at four o'clock A.M besides him?). Approaching without giving the action itself a second thought, he realized that the human-shaped lump was definitely a human asleep or unconscious.

Taking the person by the shoulder, Naruto shook him harshly, thinking that maybe this guy, whoever he was, had gone too heavy on his sake and was now lying around without knowing where the hell he had ended up in. Or out. Or on. Or whatever!

And the blond, in his mindless state, was about to recommend the unknown dude to go home or find another place to spend the night at because he was certainly in the most craziest place with a storm that would make him sick. But to his immense surprise, none of his words made it out of his mouth in time because at that very moment, a powerful blow caught him off-guard.

The only thing that Naruto could grasp on was the sound of his poor nose breaking and how a punch in the face was _not_ what he'd expected as he lost his balance and fell to the floor, hard.

His only reaction to this act were the bold and capitalized letters **WTF?!**

He blinked, stunned, and cuddling his throbbing nose in his hand in an attempt to stop the oozing of red, thick liquid making its way out of his nasal canals.

At the same time, the deliverer of such a blow kicked the bucket of sanity and bursted out laughing like a true maniac. It was then that Naruto realized that the "lump" was indeed human, and a female at that. That fact, however, did not stop him from feeling angry and ready to almost shake her in anger.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto tried to say, but as he still had his hand over most of his face, and his nose was still bleeding as if someone had turned the hose on, what actually came out was 'Wash shuon wish shu?'

Instead of answering his question, the girl who had at one moment had gone out laughing insanely, began to seconds later cry like a person with serious issues.

Woah...

The Naruto's blue eyes widened as he witnessed the swift turn of emotions, dumbfounded. Never in his life had he been in front of a girl crying like a madwoman out of a mental hospital and, big surprise right there, he didn't know what to do. He looked around in alarm, thinking that maybe someone else could take charge so he could get away but to his great dismay, there was no human in sight.

"Hey," he said, but sounding more like "phey." He jumped to his feet and ignored the throb coming from his backside. Approaching, he lifted the girl's chin with the one hand that didn't cover his face, angling her face to look at him.

The girl looked up slowly. And out of the blue cried, "Too close!"

The fair-haired man, so taken aback by her action, shouted back in response as the girl fell off the bag she had used as, apparently, her bed, and directly to the hard and cold muddy soil, hitting her backside so hard her teeth rattled.

The young Uzumaki was left speechless for a few seconds (for he couldn't believe that his damn luck was to bump into a young woman, that besides pretty, was in the world of maniacs, and that was beyond repair), but frowning, he crouched to her eye-level and annoyed to death he asked, "What is your _problem_?" He wiped the blood as best as he could with the sleeve of his black shirt and glared down at the cowering girl below him.

Said girl opened her mouth to answer, but no explanation was brought forth. She was shaking so badly Naruto cocked his head to the side, a blond eyebrow raised in inquiry. Come _on_! He couldn't be that scary, right?

Then he blinked, his vision altering as he caught her blue kissed lips. He frowned slightly, wondering if it was colder than he had originally thought. Naruto could be dense at times, but his unpleasant awaking and the cold downpour had cleared his train of thought to the point of realizing that the girl was probably losing body heat against the season's rains. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well," he said in concern, though his voice still held a tone of mild accusation for the blow she had been so kind to throw at him when all he had wanted was to help her in the first place.

"I ..." she whispered breathlessly, looking like a lost doe .

Naruto stared at her, impassively, a mask that the teme could pull off way better than him, but nevertheless Naruto found appropriate to use just this once, though a part of him was telling him that his tactics weren't giving off the desire effect, for he was only scaring the poor girl out of her wits. The teenager shut her mouth with a distinguishable snap when she was unable to form a single sentence, and nodded her head yes at his question, her eyes big like an owl's.

He continued observing her, his gaze lingering on her ghostly pale face, waiting for her answer even though he was really not expecting none, but suddenly, as if someone had turned a switch in his head, he realized something else. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the girl before him and took a _really_ good, almost calculating, look at her for the second time.

A tight braid holding a long and luxurious mix of dark hair, bangs fashioned in a princess cut; two shaped tufts and a heart-shaped face with delicate cheekbones. A leather bag, not very big, was tied to shapely hips; a narrow waist so small he could circulate it with both hands, and which despite being hidden under loose clothing, could still be seen in all its entirety and sexy glory. Her face was stained with dots of mud and she looked dead on her feet (or well, behind). A pair of lush black lashes had hid her eyes at first, but now, even with the little light that the lightning in the distance donated, were exposed and reflected back at him like liquid mercury.

His breath caught in his throat and he couldn't help but gape, screw his emotionless facade!

The girl's eyes...those eyes... those eerily tinted eyes could only belong to _her_.

"The Hyuuga heiress."

**A/N: I hate the Cliff Hanger no Jutsu, truly, I do but it couldn't be avoided :D So. I'm warning you all language freaks, I'll be using simply words and whatnot. Why, you wonder? Because I stopped writing for a year and a half (curse you, AP classes!) in my secondary language a.k.a., english (darn you, Spanish V AP!), so please understand that I'm not what I used to be regarding words. Just the other day, I completely forgot how to distinguish 'desert' and 'dessert'! V.V Pitiful, I tell ya. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2 : 1 Down, 2 to Go

A/N: Yup, I'm back. And with a new chapter. Anyway, enjoy! Follow and Review x)

**Disclaimer: I don't own the blond dude known as Naruto...nor the other character. They belong to Mr. Kishimoto, who is going just too dang far in his manga right now.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: 1 Down, Two to Go**

1990

Japan

* * *

"Ho-how do you know who I am?" Hinata asked to immediately close her mouth when she realized that in saying those words, she had confirmed what the blond already seemed to know. She felt like slapping herself for her moment of stupidity, but she didn't have time to do such an out-of-character act. She had more important things to do, like answering some questions that were going through her head at a hundred miles per hour.

How could this stranger know her identity and family? Was she that easy to recognize, even in the state she was in? Had she met this guy before? She wasn't sure. But a second later her doubts were erased when some other thoughts took their place.

Lightning lit the sky as fast as the formation of dreadful ideas within the brain of the stupefied girl.

What if this was a guy hired by her Father to bring back to him? What if her Father was aware that she had been found and was now heading her way in a plane? What if...

Terror struck her hard. No, no,no. This couldn't be happening. Not to her, not _again_.

The golden-haired young was still looking at her with saucer for eyes and full of wonder and childish glee, oblivious to the chaotic mess inside the mind of the heiress, his face cleansed of all the blood thanks to some cold drops of water running down his tan face. In a voice full of happiness that contradicted the girl's mood, he said, "I finally found you!"

That was all the brunette needed to hear.

In that instant strength came out of who knows where and she ran down the narrow alley in which she was with all the speed her overused legs could provide.

"Wait!" shouted the boy with confusion in his voice, but a few moments later, another pair of shoes beside Hinata's was heard splash in the puddles the rain had created on the old road.

Hinata tried to lose him when she turned a sudden corner but her plan didn't turn out like she had wanted. Instead of him going straight on and losing sight of her, the boy stubbornly followed a few steps behind and closing in, hot in her pursuit and clearly not giving up any time soon.

The granted darkness that bore on her before the dawn was not helping her at all, even though it should have. The night was for cover and camouflage, that's why she had chosen to travel at that time, but it was also a disadvantage, because she couldn't see where she was going and could have walked into a wall without noticing.

The fact that her legs could no longer carry on properly and her weary vision was starting to turn blurry both contributed in making things much worse for her, and it was beginning to get old. Really old. Her lungs were burning and protesting, her mouth completely dehydrated, dry and rough as sandpaper but she still ran, struggling to simply put a foot in front of the other without stumbling.

Hinata was aware that she couldn't stand for life and with each second the clock took, her steps shortened. And with each foot of land lost, the man gained in on her, cutting the space diving them. Not even the thought of returning home against her will incited the energies required to keep running. No, that would have been too much to ask from her exhausted physical state.

A hand grabbed her by her arm, twisting it behind her back, not meant to be painful, but firm enough to let her know that if she moved so much as an inch, it would really hurt. A second one circulated around her small waist in a tight hold that spoke of not letting go.

The blond pulled her to a complete stop and tried to turn her around to face him and to explain that he wasn't a psychopathic murderer for her to run away like a maniac, to please keep her composure.

Yeah, but that was easier said than done.

She instantly tried to escape from her pursuer's hold, not caring when her arm bended down to a sickening angle, causing him to exert more force on his once-gentle grip. She, trying to fight back, but being the blond too strong and she too inmobilized to do much if she didn't want her arm to snap in two, ended up doing was to make them both trip over their own feet and land with a slight splash on the wet and muddy surface, her first and him on top.

"Umph!" The air was brutally expelled from her body with the fall and the rain only made breathing almost impossible because of her position and also because instead of stopping, the rain decided to bring on a real storm, just in case it wasn't one already.

Hinata was beginning to seriously think that Mother Nature must have really had a grudge against her for behaving like that.

She tried to get up but her body was too heavy, more than usual. It was then that she realized that the guy was pinning her to the ground, intertwining his legs with her to avoid getting kicked and the rest of his body over Hinata's to hold her down.

"Calm down!" he shouted to be heard above a clap of thunder. "I will not do you any harm! Could you please hold still?" he asked while evading the now-clumsy blows the girl still wanted to otorgue him on his sore face. He was thankful for having though of acting quickly and clasping her arms, otherwise he was pretty sure he would have been knock out if he hadn't. The heiress was not going without giving him a fight, and she was making it painfully apparent.

Hinata wanted to ignore his words, sure that they were mean to be a trap for her, to make him gain her trust just to catch her more easily. But she didn't have a dependable way to escape, and knowing that even if she did, her chances of winning were from slim to zero, if this guy was what she thought he was, she stopped her useless strikes to save the little strength she had left, which wasn't much now.

"Let me go," she whispered when she finally stopped moving. "Please, I beg you, let me go."

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but no words made it pass his lips. His expression showed surprise. Naruto stared at the heiress, his goal and the aim of his mission. He stared her down, and closed his mouth forming a firm, thin line. "I'm afraid I cannot do that," he said with apathy, averting his blue orbs, as if he couldn't bear to see the look Hinata was giving him with her own lavender eyes.

"Why not?" questioned the girl, still trying to regain her breath.

"That does not concern you."

"Let me go," she supplicated for the third time that night.

Naruto turned to see her once again, that girl who looked as she wanted to burst into tears again but was stubborn enough to keep them at bay. Her eerie and unusual eyes that reminded him of a full moon implored him to let her get hesitated for a second, her gaze locking with his. Hinata almost thought he was going to do as she asked, but she was wrong. She was asking for too much; Naruto slowly shook his head in response at her petition.

"I'm sor-" he began, ready to take her by force and drag her back to where Kiba and Sasuke slept if it came to that, but before he could do anything, an immense pain was experienced and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop from crying out in anguish and fury.

"Umff!" was all that escaped through his gritted teeth as our beloved protagonist, who felt like his manhood was pretty much over, completely let go of the indigo-haired heiress.

Somehow, the girl had managed to raise one of her knees and deliver an extremely low blow, both figuratively and literally, leaving the poor guy to get something he had done nothing to deserve and moaning in sheer agony at what he was feeling.

Hinata took advantage of the 'accident' she had provoked and stood up, ready to go back to what she had been doing when we, the readers, first met her in this story.

But that never came to pass because when she stood up, her body refused to cooperate with her brain and instead of getting away from the blue-eyed teen, her muscles began to shake uncontrollably, causing her legs to bend and fold underneath her, unable to support her weight.

The last things she heard were the sound of something hitting what happened to be a kind of extremely hard surface, and not very far away from her the groans of affliction and the harsh curses of an unknown boy calling her name.

* * *

_**Inside the motel room Naruto & Company rented and were staying at.**_

_32 minutes after HyuugaHinata decided that it was a wonderful idea to drop her dead weight on the ground. One a very dirty street. In the middle of the freaking night. Oh, and hitting her skull hard against a concrete wall while she was at it._

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but feel worry (and also stupid for even caring about a complete stranger, who besides hurting his entire face, took the liberty of damaging a part of his body that no human being walking on the surface of the earth had the right to strike!) as he stared at the woman asleep on what once upon a time was his bed.

"And when will leave? Right after she wakes up?" he asked Sasuke, who was taking his own personal _liberty_ of ignoring the heiress and the dobe.

Kiba, who was next to Hinata changing the wet cloth he was using to relieve the fever, was the teammate that answered him. "Are you insane? The girl can barely breathe, let alone walk. I don't know which of Shino's bugs bit her, but she's not in a very good condition."

And it was true. The young heiress had high temperature, cheeks red as apples, and a fast heartbeat. She lay shivering under the covers Naruto had wrapped her in earlier, making her look more like a cocoon than anything else, her head and one of her hands the only thing visible.

Her slow, raspy breathing was the only sound in the room besides Akamaru's soft whines of concern. The white dog was curled up next to the girl, taking her into instant affection for reasons not entirely known and to the confusion of the team members, especially the owner, who knew that Akamaru, being a well trained dog, never paid any attention to people he didn't know. But this seemed to be an especial occasion for the giant animal and he was taking it up to himself to be the heiress very own guard, growling in warning when Naruto and Sasuke moved positions, but mostly at Naruto, even when the blue-eyed teen wasn't doing anything. It was as if the huge bag of fleas accused him for the girl's ill well-being and was now making a point of letting blond know that if the he so much as came a millimeter close, the white dog would personally rip his head off his shoulders.

It was, to put it simply, a very tense and creepy situation for Naruto.

The Hyuuga girl's soaked clothing had been changed by an old pair of sweats two sizes too big and not a much better sweater, large enough to hang all the way past her hips, but that was what the owner of the establishment, a woman in her sixties, had been able to come up with.

Sasuke had taken the bothersome task of going and knocking on her door downstairs, awaken her, and explained that his 'sister' had been found by him out on the street and was wet and unconscious. That if she could please do him the favor of taking care of her and into clean clothes, that he would pay her well for her job, etc.

The old lady, who had a face that spoke of tough work, could not refuse when her eyes fell on the room inhabited by boys. She furrowed her brows, eyes narrowed in suspicion while she looked at each teen right on the face. This made Naruto itch with nerves for he was sure that the old sack of bones was going to suddenly know all the truth behind Sasuke's lie and make a huge scene. Luckily for him, the cranky woman only glared at them and ordered them to go out in the hallway while she did as requested.

The boys had complied and were more than a little relieved at finding that they didn't have to undress the young woman themselves (with the exception of certain brown-haired person) and not answer any questions, as the old woman had said nothing, which was a little unusual, but Naruto Kiba and let him go.

"She was obviously going to get sick if she slept out in the rain!" Naruto exclaimed now, somewhat angry. "And to top it off, she runs away from home and takes on the run for almost a full week. We should hurry and send her where she came from."

"And what do you care if we don't leave soon?" Kiba questioned, a wicked glint of amusement in his dark eyes. "Are you afraid that you'll be put back in your place by her, as before?" the brunette asked mockingly, and even Sasuke could not prevent a smile formed on his face as everyone remembered how ridiculous Naruto had looked and felt when he walked into the room half an hour ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

Akamaru's barking woke him from his peaceful slumber.

"Huh ..." Kiba groaned as he turned in his bed, acquiring a better position and covering his ears with his pillow, trying to keep the noise out.

But it was almost impossible.

The barks were reached their crescent and when the bedroom door was harshly thrown open, along with a few curses in Naruto's secondary language, Kiba, with a sigh of irritation and eyes full of killing intent, got up to see what was happening and to yell at his partner that there was people who wanted to sleep without hearing so much fuss, to shut the hell up or to feel his wrath.

Imagine his great surprise when a soaked-to-the-bone Naruto crossed the room to his bed with a person limply hanging on his back, which by the looks fo it was a girl. Kiba quickly rushed to light a source of illumination (A.K.A., tons of candles, since the electricity system in that town sucked) and went to see what was happening.

"Naruto?" he questioned uncertainly. "Huh, wha the hell do you got there-? Wait a second, more importantly yet, what in the devil's name happened to your face? It's all swollen and red as a tomato! Ha-ha!" He could not stop laughing while the offended tomato-face boy switched the package he had brought off his back and placed it in what was once one of his bed sheets carefully on the floor, getting her away from his bed to not soak it through. He would later, when she was dry, put her in his bed and cover her up.

"And you should see your clothes! Is it that you went to fight with a herd of pigs?" the boy kept on laughing at his friend's misfortune.

"Shut up Kiba baka!" Naruto growled, as if he were in terrible pain, his job in covering the Hyuuga heiress done for now.

"Jeez, and that voice? Why so hurt, Naruto? I was just messing with you."

"Moron, I just got hit in-!" Naruto began, turning to face his friend with eyes that were more than scary and wild, a very evil black aura radiating off him like radioactive fumes, causing Kiba's own eyes to go large and round like golf balls. He had never seen his friend act that way and it was more than a little frigtening.

"Oi, Na-naru-ruto, calm down!" said the young man with his palms facing front as if to appease the blond who was now walking directly to him with careful and slow steps that were making Kiba shake nervously in the inside, though he would never admit it.

"Don't tell me that's her …" Sasuke's voice made Naruto turn to see the most quiet and serious of the group, who looked calm like always but this time there was some hint of surprise on his face as he watched the young woman nestled in Naruto's sheet.

Somehow he had moved without his companions realizing it from his place on the opposite side of the room. Kiba inwardly sighed in relief when Naruto backed away from him and headed to sit on the floor next to Sasuke and in front of the heiress.

"Hai, teme." Naruto wanted to say more, brag that he had completed the mission without their help, but could not. He wasn't in the spirit to celebrate phase one of their mission.

The girl's pleading eyes still bothered him. The memory made him feel guilty for something that he didn't begin to understand and it infuriated him to know that he had nothing to feel bad about but even so felt responsible. For what? He had no idea.

What the hell was wrong with him, anyway? Why should he care? He had done missions like these before, and the people he kidnapped/rescued back were always happy and grateful. Why couldn't this girl be the same and be on her way back home?

He sighed and tried to sit down but when he so much as moved, he realized that it was impossible. "Damn!" he cried, making the few witnesses jump at his sudden exclamation.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked irritably as his dark eyes watched Naruto hiss made-up curses. "Now, stop screaming for nothing, knucklehead," he warned, "or I'll be forced to beat you."

"You do not understand," Naruto said between moans. "Oh, you do not know the pain! I never 'Id feel it, really!"

"What are you going on about now, dobe?"

"She is to blame for all this!" the blond exclaimed, ignoring Sasuke's question or simply answering it in his own way, pointing an accusatory finger at the heiress, his eyes crying like waterfalls.

"What the hell are you talking about, baka?" Kiba asked as a droplet trickled down his temple anime style, though concerned about his friend's mental health.

"That woman, who you believed to be helpless, hit my low point, believe it!"

There was a moment of silence in which Kiba's mouth, and even Sasuke's, almost touched the ground. They looked at each other simultaneously and slowly back to Naruto, who was still crying like a baby brat. The two unaffected peers did not know how to react because they had never heard of someone they knew getting hit _there_.

Glancing once again at each other and then at the idiot of the group, they opted for the only alternative they saw and bursted out laughed like drunk hyenas while the blond tried to regain a little of his lost pride and shouted at them to keep their mouths shut.

* * *

_Flashback Over_

* * *

Naruto folded his arms over his chest, angry.

"Hmph!" he said. "I do not care what you two think. I, and I alone, compleated with the first part of the plan and without you help. At least I did not stay here, sleeping like a baby!" he insulted them.

But neither Kiba and Sasuke were feeling very insulted, for they knew their friend and were well aware of what exactly he was trying to provoke, and were not willing to give him the satisfaction of angering them and ruin their fun.

"Hey, in case you don't remember, we weren't the one getting his butt kicked by a girl or ending up with sore, broken nose," the black-haired teen reminded him patiently. Kiba just pressed his lips to keep from laughing and pretended to look at the ceiling of the room, which had suddenly become like one of the Seven Wonders of the World to the smirking young.

Naruto just looked at Sasuke with serious eyes. "You have yet to answer my question; when do we get out of here?"

Sasuke sighed, knowing that if he avoided an answer, the blond would never cease to bother him for the rest of the night and the upcoming morning. "When her high temperature subsides. We cannot take her in that state."

"Sasuke is right," Kiba seconded him. "If the Hyuuga is taken ill and dies on us in the way, our mission would fail."

Sasuke nodded. "Keep in mind that we are here, not only to get her to Kakashi, but to ensure her survival. Taking her out in that storm would only worsen her fever."

Naruto said nothing, still angry by teasing (which he found not very hilarious) of his friends, and at the Hyuuga heiress, who had done him a very (here's a hint:) PAINFUL damage.

"Whatever," he muttered. "But not even dead will I talk to her again, and I will only protect her when necessary. Understood?"

His companions were about to reply when a delicate groan came from the mouth of the only female in the room, calling all of the boys' attention.

Kiba looked down, his job in changing the wet cloth forgotten; Sasuke approached with his poker face in place; a worried Akamaru growled and bared his teeth at him slightly, but then stood and closed the distance between him and the heiress,leaning down to lick the girl's face in an effort to wake her up completely.

Naruto stayed where he was, his arms still crossed and with a scowl on. He was surprised the girl was waking up so soon after almost splitting her head in two.

The blue-haired young turned away from Akamaru making a funny expression and now facing Kiba, who was currently watching her with all his devoted attention (although, to be fairly honest, he looked more like a worshiper than a thief right then, but oh well, what can I do about it, right?).

"She's so beautiful," he sighed with heart-shaped eyes, moving his head to the side, and like his white dog, to get a better view, leaning in . At that moment, the girl decided to open her eyes ... and cry out.

"AHHH!" she screamed in panic and instantly reacting and throwing a punch at Kiba, who could not react due to his great surprise (and stupidity). Now his eyes didn't resemble cheesy hearts, but large X's that made him look as if he was truly dead and gone.

A shiver ran down Naruto's body at what he saw but he armed himself with courage. It was just a girl and they already had one phase of the plan down, just two more to go. It coulnd't be that hard...Or could it?

What the heck, why lie?

Yes, this mission was not going to be as easy as he'd previously thought. He could feel it, and what his insinuation told him wasn't going to be that far off in his future.

_I'm kicking your butt when I get back, Kakashi sensei_, thought the blond, before joining the fray and going to the aid of his fallen friend.

* * *

**A/N: Bwhehe, see? I'm evil. C: Either way, thank you for reading and for those who follow/favorite/and review, I did this for you, and especially for Awesome Me In Human Form, who hurried me up! Thank you for your support.**

**Chapter 3 will bring more of the plot and new characters/enemies. And trust me when I tell you this: one unexpected someone will make his appearance in moder 1990 Japan! :D Stay tune for more of this next week.**

**Sorry if I take longer to translate, but i have two more stories to worry about as well and i also have to finish chapter 7 and 8 of the Spanish version, and my spanish-speaking fans will a)kill me for taking more than a week to write/publish the new chapter, even though I'm almost done with it, or b)give me a peptalk about how it's unfair to keep them waiting. Either way, see (or read you? o_) until next time!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Heiress Meets the Thief

**Chapter 3: The Heiress Meets the Thief**

**Suna, Japan**

_1990_

3: 23 A.M

* * *

A shadow moved into his range of vision.

Raising his weary head, he opened a bruised eye to catch a better glimpse of the newcomer...and froze. That was the reaction that took over his entire body and he couldn't help but go along with it.

A young man of perhaps seventeen to eighteen years of age stepped into the room and walked toward the paralyzed man with steps so silent and so slow that he didn't seem to be touching the ground at all. His shadow, product of the lit up hallway, spread over the entire floor like some type of blackened substance. His eyes were closed, making him look as if he sleepwalked, and his arms were crossed over his chest in a careless manner. His red tinted hair dropped over his forehead like bangs, hiding most of his facial features and expression.

Though the older man couldn't read him, he could feel an aura that spoke of death quickly invading the place, filling the air with iciness. His stomach dropped heavily, leaving a hollow space that was immediately replaced by rocks.

The owner of that malicious feeling continued to walk towards the man who sat on the only chair in the room, his hands and feet held tight by large chains showing traces of oxidation and rust, though that might have been the dried blood of previous tortured men.

The room where he'd been kept for the last two days was spacious, much to his surprise. High, thick walls hid him and his captors from the outside world, forming a barrier that prevented anybody passing by from suspecting what truly went on behind the 200X350 ft. compound. Of course, such a abandoned-looking building should have called the attention of policemen and the troublesome gangs that wandered the streets at night, but the Organization of Suna knew what they were doing and it didn't take much to scare, or in the case of law, blackmail and threaten, said vermin off the territories they had no business in.

There was always the exception to the rule,however, and the stupid rebellious teen that decided to cross the line once in a while, only to be put in his place the hard way. Or simply said, killed, because to be honest, Suna's agents weren't really that forgiven when made angry. It was something to keep in mind, but people didn't know what they got themselves into until it was too late, and they were gone.

The man had tried to ignore all the trauma that wanted to get hold of him but it wasn't easy, much less when he had a reminder of what could happen to him every time he took a breath. The terrible odor coming off the room was the most disgusting smell he'd ever inhaled in his life, and he was currently avoiding to ponder on why the stench made him think of rotting flesh.

He was afraid, true, but his feeling of dread didn't stop him from doing what he did next. With all his remaining strength, he opened his closed left eye with some difficulty and stared at the newcomer coldly, refusing to back down and show his new tormentor that he wasn't scared though inwardly, his heart seemed to stop beating and turn to ice, telling a different story. He tried to swallow without being obvious about it but the coppery taste of his own blood made him want to puke.

The only thing I lack to complete this scene is to wet my pants and scream like a schoolgirl, he tried to joke, but his sense of humor fell short.

The dark-haired boy opened his eyes, revealing aquamarine orbits that resembled a couple of marbles made of out of the hardest glass, showing no emotion of any kind, not even mercy, behind them except a sharp coldness that penetrated anybody standing in front of him, and the man tied to the chair was no exception.

Without the older man's permission, a tremor seized his entire body, leaving him covered in goosebumps.

The boy reached out, almost as if he wanted to touch the other man's face and the man recoiled away, only to see that the fingers weren't meant for him, but to turn on the switch behind his head.

The sudden brightness caused the man to close his pained eyes against the light and blink slowly to clear his vision. He would later regret doing that, for when he saw who the person in front of him was, he realized the real fear began now.

His eyes almost popped out of his head and his gasp was more than audible.

"Gaara of the Desert," the man said with effort and biting his tongue, cursing himself for revealing his fear in a single, short sentence.

The boy said nothing but faced the man, his prey, to witness how he trembled slightly, obviously attempting to hide how scared he was but failing. Gaara held the man's gaze for a long second, a second that became an eternity to the man, who wanted to look away but couldn't.

The man went by the name of Kesho Tushira and in that instant, his breathing stopped as those eyes cut through him like a sharp knife slicing soft butter.

"Tushira," rasped the young man with dark red hair and dark bags under his eyes that proved he didn't sleep much.

Tushira's eyes widened. Now he knew he'd been wrong about Gaara's unfeeling eyes; his eyes were nothing compared to that voice that made the Grim Reaper look friendly. It was dry, unique and corpse-like, something that Tushira had never heard in his life.

The walls of the room only seemed to mock his fear when the redhead's only word echoed back to him. Without neither individual noticing, a bug the size of a roach made its way into the room through one of the small gaps and with uncanny, intelligent, shinning eyes, stared at the scene.

This time, Tushira couldn't stop the flow of terror running through his veins; he moaned slightly in fear.

"You don't have to do this," he said, trying to avert his gaze from Gaara's and fighting to keep his voice from shaking, wanting to hide all the panic he was feeling.

The Demon of the Desert didn't answer anything for a long time, just looked at Tushira as if he were a fat and good-looking rabbit and him a very hungry wolf ready to kill him, surprising Tushira by this sudden change in behavior and the emotions displayed.

The boy's eyes had also undergone a change. Now the thick lines of black surrounding his eyes expanded and the whites could be clearly seen. The teen's mouth was clenched so tight Tushira thought it would snap at any moment.

"This is what keeps me alive. This is what makes me feel as if I did something worthwhile, that my life's worth living. Killing makes me feel alive," was the savage reply the kid gave.

Gaara raised the palm of his hand slowly, placed it in front of his next victim's face and laughed like a maniac.

Before the astonished eyes of Tushira, sand particles began to float in front of his face and group tightly, taking the form of a sharp spear the size of a dagger.

The black-haired man had been ready to die, because once you crossed to Danzo, or got caught by one of his loyalists, you were as good as dead the moment you were dragged to one of his warehouse. But when death knocks on your door and you see it coming by means of violence, terror is impossible to halt and evade, and though Tushira was an unusual man, he wasn't immune to how the nervous system reacted when it discovered it was about to be shut down forever.

"Gaara-sama, don't! I beg you, please don't do it!" Tushira begged, crying out the last fragment of his plea.

But the young man hadn't shown mercy in the past and wasn't going to have a change of heart that night. His eyes didn't change from his manic state and blood-lust he emitted was so strong it was almost palpable.

"I live to kill," Gaara whispered, as he always did, and clutched his sand peak in his hand before infiltrating it into Toshira's skull slowly and painfully.

The man let out a piercing scream that didn't die off until he did.

Gaara, meanwhile, only stared at his victim struggling in his chains, completely unaffected by what he'd just done.

Once the wails of pain were cut off off, the redheaded boy took his spear out with a sickening wet sound, and with a wave of his hand, disintegrated it.

"I think this time you did a clean job, considering that you only took the head out and not his entire body," commented a voice from behind him.

Gaara didn't bother to answer, just remained standing,stiff, in front of the man he'd murdered.

The bug on the wall kept still for a moment, and then wuthout hesitating, went back the way it'd come.

A brown haired boy approached Gaara, spared a look at the man his leader had ordered to dispose of and then turned to his younger brother. "Gaara, are you listening?"

Gaara remained unresponsive.

"Gaara?" Kankuro called again.

A moment of silence.

"Shut up," came the raspy voice again. Turning around, Gaara walked away from the person he considered practically nothing and headed for the door.

In the hallway, a young woman of perhaps eighteen years of age wearing a white miniskirt and a tight black corset awaited the arrival of the the red-headed eagerly. Her blue eyes were so dark it was hard to tell whether they were black or dark blue, and were now looking around carelessly. Her body language spoke of inconspicuousness, but if you knew her well, you were bound to notice the way her fingers kept on fidgeting and how conflicted she really was behind her neutral mask.

"Gaara," the girl called out when she realized that once again her younger sibling had ignored her and passed by her side as if she were like the hanging air, invisible and not worth his time.

Temari sighed mentally, asking for patience and courage.

"Gaara, please. We have a new mission. "

Gaara stopped though with his back to the blond. Without saying a word, Temari began to explain the mission, because she knew that her brother wouldn't utter a word unless he felt like it or thought it was important.

"Hyuuga Hiashi asked for a tracking team a few days ago to search for his missing daughter, Hyuuga Hinata. Our team failed in bringing her when three Konoha agents fought them on the way. We left a spy to keep track of their movements and actions, and him, too came back, beat up and with enough information for us to take care of this mission once and for all. It's essential for us to bring Hiashi-sama's daughter to him as soon as possible," she quickly summarized, not wasting spit in details that weren't of importance at the moment.

"Do you think that's a good reason to bother me?" Gaara asked condescendingly, his gaze on something no one could see.

Temari replied, choosing her words with care, "The mission was given to this compound, Gaara, and the people in this compound will take care of it without anybody's help. It's our responsibility to support our allies and take matters where the last team left off. It's up to you, Kankuro and I to get the Hyuuga heiress back. We are the only team capable on taking on these Konoha agents, who, by the looks of it, are not easy to bring down. " She paused. "These agents are known to be taught under the forbidden ninja arts no one has awaken since the eighteen century or so. If they could bear the training that comes with those arts,and perform them, then that makes us the perfect team to go against them in a fight. Only a few in this compound can manage to learn the forbidden styles of fighting and the powerful techniques, and our team is one of those few."

Gaara remainded impassive.

"There's three of them, a dog that may be a nuisance, and the Hyuuga heiress. I'll take care of the girl, and Kankuro of the guy who makes partner with the fleabag. As for the other two brats, you, being the strongest between Kankuro and I, will have them for yourself . You're allowed to get rid of them in whatever way you want. There's no rule saying you can't kill them," she added, hoping that Gaara would come with her and Kankuro peacefully if he knew he'd be allowed to kill.

The last piece of information met Temari's goal and took the redhead's attention, much to Temari's relief. Turning his head to look at the older sibling with his deadpanned expression, he demanded, "When do we leave?"

* * *

**Somewhere in Japan.**

_Approximately 5:43 A.M._

* * *

51 seconds before Hinata awoke, granting Kiba a great blow he would never forget and knocking him out for a good while, impressing Sasuke with her unique tactic and making the only blond in the group worry about his team's physical health before remembering that Kiba had it coming for making fun of him. Vengeance, after all, was always sweet.

* * *

She knew something was wrong.

Something was definitely out of place, but she couldn't conclude, what exactly bothered her to no end because 1.) her head was killing her, 2.) her body felt so cold she might have been in Antarctica with penguins watching her sleep for all she knew, and 3.) she was _starving_, but the thought of food nauseated her to no end. Yeah, something just didn't quite add up, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She moaned when she tried to open her eyes, only to feel the earth going around her dizzily. Suddenly, a warm, wet, raspy _thing _caressed her cheek. Turning away from that weird sensation, she realized two things with the first one being that she was no longer wet and the second one being that she was not only dry but laying on a surface that reminded her of a magnificent bed. Maybe not the type of mattress she'd slept in before she decided to escape the Hyuuga mansion, but way better than the tree branches she'd been taking naps on.

She closed her eyes tightly once again and began to blink slowly, allowing them to focus without forcing them to open all the way, her lashes brushing against her high cheekbones.

She'd imagine penguins staring back at her when she'd wake up from her slumber, even a freaking seal! Imagine her surprise when she met with a pair of dark eyes instead of feathered birds, courtesy of a young man who was currently looking at her in a very strange manner and that was also _way_ too near her personal space.

And what was a girl to do when, without warning, she finds a man staring at her as if he'd love to devour her like a delicious piece of chocolate cake?

Well, Hinata didn't know about anybody else, but she sure as hell wasn't going to stay there and wonder about it. Instead, she opted for the only alternative she was capable of understanding and screamed, reflectively punching said man with her fist and with all her might.

The brown-haired young ended up falling to the floor with the lightest hint of surprise reflected on his face and with a loud thud, laid on the floor, still.

Hinata quickly sat up, her head spinning with flashes of light, and took her new surroundings in with a glance and blurry eyes. Or, at least, that was the plan but she only saw a wooden ceiling and heard the whine of a dog.

She was swift to notice that her body was held on tight with a bunch of bed-sheets, enveloping her securely, which caused her to panic, and with good reason because she didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was running away from the guy in the alley...

She kicked her feet to get out of her clothed prison only realize her legs were completely tangled. That fact didn't stop her next moves, and she took hold of one sheet's corners with her free hand and began to get rid of them. But, as one might say, that was easier said than done.

Meanwhile, a blond-haired thief stared at the scene unfolding before his blue eyes with a glint of wicked amusement, pleased by how things had worked themselves out.

Ha, he'd been planning on saving his teammate. Well, he now saw it wasn't possible since the guy was already knocked out. So instead of helping, he decided to join the fun, and kneeling where the brunette was, Naruto hit him on top of his brown head without mercy.

"Serves you right, you freaking pervert," he told the boy he'd just thrown a blow at and whose face continued to be maintain a dreamy smile that had recently turned into a pained grimace.

Hinata, in the mean time, wanted to say she wasn't freaking out, but if she wanted to be completely honest with herself...she was freaking out. She gasped, her big lavender eyes reminding Sasuke of a deer caught in the headlights, as she looked around her, still trying, in vain, to get out of her cocoon.

"B-but ... where am I?" she gasped, a slight frown on her delicate face, one of her arms sticking out and her body trashing around, seeking to be freed.

Sasuke, seeing that he was the only one in the room in his right mind, sighed in a why-me sort of way and headed to the human covered with blankets. With fast and experimented fingers and twists, he managed to loose what restrained the heiress he'd search for almost a week now.

When the girl made a sound of protest, he threw her a look and that was all it took; silvery eyes met onyx and Sasuke wasn't sure what she saw but she stopped struggling. Well, at least she hadn't hit him.

Once free, Hinata said, "T-thank you."

Sasuke didn't give a 'you're welcome' in return, just nodded in his I'm-to-cool-for-you attitude. However, he did add, "Stay put and rest; you'll need it if you want to recover."

And before the Hyuuga had time to reply, he stood and turned back the way he'd come, ignoring the two other guys and the dog that were a few feet from Hinata's current bed.

She was confused, and having her head spinning and hurting didn't help matters. She wanted to know who the blond and the two brunette were, and most importantly, were she was. But seeing that everyone was busy and wouldn't give her answers, or, to be sincere, she was too shy to open her mouth and question them, she waited and did as she was told by the boy with midnight eyes.

She turned to the blond and heard him murmur something about "you had it coming" and "divine justice" to a guy who looked to be out cold and with his eyes rolling, an eerie smile on his face. Her brows came together and she wondered what they were doing and what was wrong with the guy on the floor...

And then it clicked.

_Oh no_, thought Hinata in dismay as she realized that once again she'd beaten someone without being aware of doing it. Forgetting for a moment were she was and her throbbing pain, she approached the two teens.

"I ... I am very sorry!" the indigo-haired girl apologized for what she'd done unconsciously. "I didn't mean to hurt y-you," she said mournfully only to remember that the guy looked pretty dead to the world and that probably couldn't hear her. She turned to the blond as if to explain, her eyes wide, "I-I mean, I didn't m-meant to hurt h-him!"

Her next round of apologies died on her lips when her mouth formed an O of surprise and her face a mask of shock. The boy with light hair raised his head and his eyes met with the Hyuuga's lavender hinted ones.

There, in that moment, a second became timeless and Hinata witnessed for the first time the bluest eyes she's seen in her life. Sapphires, the sea, a summer sky in the sunny afternoon...they were beautiful and the descriptions above couldn't begin to compete with the different hues of blue the young man in front of her had in his possession.

She was snapped out of her daydream when the light-eyed boy just looked at her with a little ... resentment?

Hinata broke eye contact with some difficulty and looked at her surroundings carefully this time . A single room with three beds; a nightstand and a garbage can full of empty instant noodle containers; a young man with two red tattoos on his cheeks, lying on the floor with a giant dog whining at his side and trying to get him out of the coma a certain heiress had put him under; another dark-haired guy, looking older and in control, resting his back against the far wall, watching the show with an impatient face and mysterious dark eyes, something that looked very pointy to Hinata twirling in his index finger; and finally, in front of her a young blond with the most exotic eyes ever.

Hinata looked at him curiously and forgetting that her eyes burned and that on her forehead a big lump was forming, she asked carefully, "W-where are we? Who are you? "

Thank the heavens she didn't stutter. Much. Otherwise she would have kick herself, mostly because she didn't want to show the dread taking over her body, nor the weakness her father was always disliking her for, because now she had a pretty good idea of what was wrong and she didn't want to let those guys know she was about to wet her pants. Figuratively speaking.

The guy leaning on the wall and playing with a kunai, Hinata realized now, chuckled. "Do you really want to know, or should we feed you a happy lie?" he began with a cold and closed expression, confidence displayed both in his body language and the way he spoke. Sadly for him, he was quickly intersected by a certain individual, whom was more than a little surprised and pissed when he realized the Hyuuga girl didn't remember him. Or so he thought.

"Are you kidding me?!" he screamed.

The young Hyuuga jumped back, startled.

"You smack me, I get all mashed out, then you hit me where you _should never_ hit a man, and you don't remember? What the hell? " cried the boy, leaning closer to the heiress's face, causing the blood to rush to her face, the fever more present than ever before.

_Hit him where I should never hit a man...?_ It took her a second for the words to take meaning. _Ooh!_

Insider her head, she was dying of fright. It was _him_!

His skin color had been a lot different when they were out in the storm, his unruly hair had been more silvery with a few flashes of intense dull gold. His eyes had been only a brilliant dark gray.

But all that had changed. The skin of the blond was so tanned it was obvious he spent a lot of time outdoors, his eyes were more beautiful than a jewel or the cloudless heaven, and his head was a careless mane of golden-colored locks. Out in the darkness of the storm, she hadn't noticed that on his cheeks, three whiskers marked him, reminding Hinata of a cat.

Yes, it was him, alright. He was the guy she'd met out in the rain.

The lights in the room began to flash suddenly and then give up. A thunder was heard clashing with the ground over the mountains and that was when Hinata became aware of several candles lit throughout the room. Someone had lighten them at some point and had left them there, probably in case the lights gave out, just like now.

For his part, the dark-haired, oblivious to the thoughts running through the mind of the heiress, gritted his teeth in anger and a vein appeared on his temple,proving that he hated being interrupted, specially by the bashful blond he teamed up with in every mission. "Shut up, dobe! We aren't supposed to talk to the hostage! " he scolded.

"What's wrong with telling her about what she did to me?! She;ll eventually know, anyway!" he volleyed back. "And don't come at me with your sermons!" he added threateningly.

His opponent took a breath and let it out slowly, returning once more to his uninterested composure. "Hmph. If that were true, Kakashi wouldn't put us in the same team and me as a captain to keep you from doing anything stupid," he retorted.

"If you haven't noticed just yet, you, oh, ye great Mr. I-Never-Do-Anythign-Wrong, just commited a huge mistake!"

The blackhead's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?" he growled.

"I'm surprised, teme. Really. And you haven't even caught up! Ha! " exclaimed the energetic boy in thriumph, a smug smile forming on his lips.

"You wish that to be the case, huh, dobe? Very well, then, do enlighten me and tell me the errounous act that I, supposedly, have committed. "

"You just revealed Kakashi-sensei's identity to the Hyuuga heiress! Now she and her father will know what organization was involved in blackmailing him!" With that said, Naruto crossed his arms, nodding with satisfaction at his little battle he had won.

Sasuke's eyes opened wide, and his head expanded so inhumanly large that Akamaru, being the smart dog he was, kept a safe distance, only to soon realize something else, something that the humans in the room had yet to perceive.

"IDIOT!" the brunette yelled at his partner in crime so loud the windowpanes shook. "Now she'll know what the name is important! I bet if you hadn't brought it up, she'd overlook it! You're such a moron, dobe!"

"She doesn't look stupid enough to not know that any name you say is important! And don't give me that dirty look, it was your fault this discussion started in the first place!" the 'dobe' defended himself.

Akamaru barked, trying to attract gain the teenager's devoted attention.

But they pretty much ignored him, looking at each other with such rivalry that the air around them began to turn black and stormy.

Akamaru gave up and headed to the entrance, scratching it with his claws, trying to open the door. But to his disgrace, it refused to be opened by an animal, and, as if to mock the white dog, it opened just a bit to instantly close on Akamaru's startled face. The dog growled low in his throat, his non-existing brows forming a deep scowl.

Coming to the solid terms that getting out of the room was impossible without first demolish the entrance (something that he knew he wasn't allowed to do, even if he wished to), he trotted back to his still-knocked-out master and licked his face, in an attempt to wake him up from his inner world. without much success.

Seeing that he had no choice, the smart dog stared at his master's leg with an expression of such determination it was eerie, and without hesitation, he bit down. Hard.

"ARGHH!" Was the cry of pain Kiba gave, along with a mouthful of curses that would make schoolchildren want to scream in horror and pirates burn with envy, jumping from his place on the floor and finally regaining consciousness.

Score: Akamaru;1: Door; 0.

If the dogs could talk, he would have said, "Oh hell yeah, baby!" But as it was, he decided to keep his victory to himself and hurry his boss up, regardless of the fact that said boss was suffering from a huge bite and a teeth-chattering punch.

Kiba looked at him with eyes full of resentment, gripping the site affected by his friend's sharp teeth. "What the hell came over you, Akamaru?! Why the hell did you bite me like that?!" he demanded, his eyes big like saucers and tearing up like a mini waterfalls.

The giant dog was about to answer (not in human form, obviously, he was a dog after all,) when the brown-haired boy took notice of what was going on between his friends.

"Hey, what did I miss?" he asked, puzzled, while scratching the back of his head.

Naruto turned to look at the brunette for a second before sending lethal knives through his eyes at Sasuke, not wanting to lose their stare-down contest. "After that Hyuuga girl gave you a beating? Not much."

Kiba turned from side to side, searching for the cause of his pain, besides Akamaru. "By the way, where is she? Did you guys allowed her to go somewhere?!" he asked in disbelief.

"What are you even saying, stupid? She's right there," Sasuke said, pointing to the direction he believed the heiress to be.

Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke turned to look but they only found empty bed-sheets laying on the floor, where once upon a time an heiress with pearly eyes and hair the color of violets slept.

There was a moment of intense silence, the kind that is typical in cemeteries, before the screams of the three young demolished it completely (see what I did here?).

"BAKA!" insulted Kiba with his eyes lit by a flame of fury, grabbing his shoes from where he'd thrown them carelessly the night before and almost tripping in his hurry.

"Ah! She's gone!" Naruto cried in panic, searching for his sandals and not finding them.

"You're a fool, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, a huge vein popping on his forehead, as he zipped his jacket close after making sure his tools ( a.k.a., weapons,) were properly placed inside his attire. "If you hadn't open your big mouth to argue with me, this wouldn't be happening," he growled.

"Bah!" Replied the blond with a pout, one foot in the air as he struggle with one of his now-found shoes. "You're just saying because you know you are at fault and not me, but you refuse to admit it."

"Shut up, dobe!"

"Shut up, teme!"

"GUYS! Shut _your_ trap up or I'll kick you both so hard your ancestors will feel it!" Kiba threatened from his place outside the room, his dark-blue waterproof coat on and his face settled into hard features, his mouth drawn in a thin line. It was clear the brown-haired teen was in no mood to argue with his teammates and that the glare he was giving them spoke of real business.

"You can kill each other later, but after we get _her_ back. We need this three-men party working properly," he added. At his side, Akamaru sniffed the floor with his powerful nose in search of the Hyuuga girl's scent. "The rain will make tracking difficult for Akamaru. For that reason,we're to split up, each one of us searching in diverse parts of town. Got it?" he demanded and walked to the staircase, taking the stairs two at the time.

Naruto nodded, following close behind, with his face more serious than before. Kiba's attitude had made itself known and had successfully spread to the rest of the team. "Gotcha!" replied the hyperactive blue-eyed boy.

Sasuke didn't opposed to the order but the fact that Kiba was taking charge bothered him greatly. Sasuke was the team captain of the mission, not that dog face. The raven-haired leader wasn't going to waste his time speaking his mind, though, and with one last glance at the room he was about to leave behind along with his team, he said, "Take all your stuff and make sure nothings remains behind; we're leaving for HQs."

"Eh?" Naruto asked, taken aback by the sudden change of plans.

Kiba, who'd heard the order loud and clear, backtracked his steps and echoed his friend, "Eh?!"

"I thought we'd stay here until the heiress recovered," added the blond (not that he was complaining or anything), confused by his rival's new decision.

"Just an alteration to our strategy, that's all," the guy with the onyx eyes assured. "If the girl is good enough as to leave our radar without us noticing, then she's in perfect shape to travel."

Finding nothing wrong with the teme's logic, Naruto gave a curt nod again and got his stuff ready.

Kiba, however, was about to correct the Uchia and remind him that he and Naruto had made it way too easy for Hyuuga Hinata to escape, but Akamaru's bark, informing his owner that he'd find a trail, interrupted the sentence forming at the tip of his tongue. Which was too bad, really, because Kiba didn't often come across something that would piss his leader off.

"Weeell," drawled Naruto, knapsack hanging on his back, and with his cloak, similar to that of Kiba's but black with some orange designs at the bottom, on. Add his brilliant smile and you get the perfect picture of readiness. "What are we standing here for?" he exclaimed, back on his good mood. "Not for the girl to come back, that's for sure. Now, let's move it, guys!"

Kiba, from his place outside the hallway and above the stairs, smirked and shook his head at the blond's attitude. Sasuke rolled his eyes and a small smile took over his face, softening the harsh personality he was known for, though it was brief. He wore not a coat but a royal blue jacket with his family crest sewn on the right shoulder sleeve, his usual sandals, and heavy black pants for warmth. Slapping a generous amount of money on his nightstand to pay for the services the owner and his wife had done for him and his team, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"The town isn't big like Tokyo, which will give us the advantage because that means the girl can't be too far away from here," deduced the captain of the odd team with confidence as he went down the stairs with silent steps, Naruto following behind with Kiba at the front. "You guys know the drill, so I won't waste breath and time. If she's found, give us the signal with your radios; if you encounter another Suna tracker (they already had found some on the road a few days ago), give the emergency call without hesitation. We have until dawn to find her, in other words, one hour and a half. Now, go. "

With those words, three thieves and a dog scattered throughout town.

* * *

**Setagaya-ku, Japan**

_1990_

_6:52 A.M_

* * *

Kakashi muffled a yawn while he eyed his tea with an indifferent gaze.

It was the beginning of another wonderful day and the captain wasn't feeling like getting off his lazy butt and start the work he had yet to finish in his office. He groaned, wondering why he hadn't quit his job and with it, his responsibilities, not for the first time. Being the leader of one of the biggest organization of thieves took its toll once in a while, which, in other words meant every single day of his freaking life.

But Hatake Kakashi didn't have a choice in the matter of schedule or appointments, much less when Matsuri came knocking on his door with an urgent message from Kurenai involving a spy mission she and her husband had planned with one of their teammates from the good ol' days a week ago or so ago and that had arrived through Konoha's network.

Hmm, at least, that's what Matsuri had said...or, in second thought, maybe she'd say something else entirely. He wasn't sure. His brain had yet to wake up from its slumber and work properly.

The day before he had to meet with a very angry Tsume, Kiba's mother. She had asked, well, actually she pretty much _barked_ and _demanded_ answers as in to why Kakashi had given her son a mission when she had already decided to use him in tracking a bunch of assassins hiding in the mountains thus ruining her plans.

And the white-haired man had nothing against the woman, truly, but she could be quite loud and threatening when she wanted to be.

They had reached an agreement after three hours of discussion and it was decided that Shino would go with her instead of Kiba. It wasn't going to be the same, but Aburame Shino was pretty good at searching and finding things.

Kakashi groaned again. "I'm too lazy to get up...I mean, it's too early for me to get up..." he murmured and sighed, finally getting out of his bed and placing the cup of tea Matsuri had given him in an attempt to wake him up on his nightstand. Stretching his hands above his head, he grabbed his second mask and tied it just below his right eye securely and covering his left one.

Ten minutes later, he walked out of his room and up the stairs, taking them slowly and deliberately as if he were one of the living dead and was forcibly been dragged. He was _not_ a morning person, and it showed.

He reached the hallways leading to his office, only to find the ex-Suna agent talking quietly with a woman who had her back to Kakashi. However, he didn't need to see her face to recognize Kuranai; the wild, shoulder-length black hair she possessed always gave her away, as did her clothes, which consisted of black pants, three-inch heeled ankle boots, and black fishnet shirt with red trimming at the sleeves.

He raised a brow slightly, taken aback. He hadn't expect her to be there when the brown-haired agent had gone to fetch him. Matsuri's eyes looked up to see over the brunette's shoulder and the older woman turned her head to watch how her friend and captain headed her way with agonizingly slow steps.

"I thought you were in a mission," Kakashi said as a form of greeting.

The red-eyed woman raised an eyebrow of her own. "And I thought you were awake. Good morning to you too, Captain Hatake," Kakashi's third in command said sarcastically.

Kakashi, once he stood in front of her, narrowed his visible eye and got serious. "What are you really doing here, Kurenai?"

Kurenai's expression changed from a teasing to one more serious as well. "We ran into trouble."

And that was all it took: Hatake Kakashi was officially and finally awake.

"Let's discuss this in my office, then," he said calmly after the news sank in. "Matsuri, give me your report on the boys after I'm done talking with Kurenai, okay?" he requested. The brown-haired girl nodded, aware of what 'boys' her boss was talking about, and left without looking back.

"All right," the now-refreshed captain said as he walked to his desk and took a seat. He extended his arm and motioned for the brunette to take a seat as well and begin explaining. Kurenai didn't lost a second of her time or his.

"As you know, Suna wasn't an organization until four years ago and are now causing trouble. My team, consisting of Asuma, Tushiro, and I went to investigate about what they were planning in one of their warehouses, because let's be honest, the sudden unrest and the attention they are calling isn't good for anybody here, nor for our own organization nor for them. Some of Suna's gangs are still in the streets and terrifying people in their neighborhoods. Things are getting more complex with them, Kakashi, and we'll have to do something about that soon. We are still unsure about what their goal is and they are creating a big ruckus and skirmishes throughout the poor parts of Japan, where the law is less likely to show up and in territories where rival gangs run free. Whatever they are aiming for, I don't like it."

"Did you see a pattern?" Kakashi interrupted her.

Kurenai shook her head in denial. "None. Everything we found concerning Suna is random and often leads us nowhere. However, we did come across a little something that might finally shine some light into things."

The one-eyed man folded his hands in front of him and looked at the woman expectantly. "And that would be...?"

"Switzerland."

Kakashi frowned slightly. "Switzerland," he repeated slowly as if he was tasting the country's name in his mouth. "What of it?"

"Switzerland has the most wealthy and protected banks in the world. People there are neutralist and thus cause no problem with taxes and the like. Anybody anywhere can get money transfers done and not even the government can interfere or question where that money came from or for whom it is. I don't know what Suna is planning, exactly, but this country is their priority list, and trust me when I say they'll be acting in the future."

"What makes you say that, Kurenai?" he asked, not in an accusatory way but in one of curiosity. He wanted to know her point of view and see whether her mind was working the way his was. "Suna started like an organization similar to us, but was soon corrupted by their leader, those facts we are all aware of here in Konoha. Instead of Suna keeping the alliance they had with us, they decided to break it and turn, or compete, against us two years ago. Now every mission we have, they come and take it away, or in recent cases, they simply keep us from completing it, that's what they have done. I believe you when you said they'll be acting later on, but where does that affect us?" he asked, but before Kurenai could give her answer, he continued. "Switzerland has a very good security system that might be impossible to break. Konoha has more experience than Suna when it comes down to banks but yet, they want to break into _Swiss banks_? That would be suicide, Kurenai. A mission impossible, if you may. Surely Suna's leader knows that, so why jeopardize his people?"

"Kakashi, you know as well as I, or maybe even better, that Danzo doesn't give a damn when it comes to a group of people," Kurenai exclaimed, leaning forward on her seat, frowning. "He wouldn't stop there until he gets what he thinks it's best for the ones that follow him. According to him, this world is all wrong and he plans on changing that, though using his own ways, of course. Ways that are sick _and_ wrong," she emphasized, her eyes watching Kakashi with contained disgust. She sighed. "A few people getting arrested or even dying on the way is no difference to him. I don't know about you, Kakashi, but we have to stop this man, no matter what it takes."

Hatake was about to speak up but Kurenai cut him off. "I didn't forget that he assured us that his intentions are for the good of everybody the last time we crossed paths, but he's using the wrong methods, and causing more trouble and conflicts among the people. Hell, his influence is getting to be so great that if Civil War erupts, it wouldn't surprise me."

"So basically, all you found out is that they'll be going to Switzerland and robbing a bank? There's a lot of banks in that country, so which one are you referring to?"

"I didn't have time to find out; we got caught and one of my men ended up killed!"

Kakashi's eye narrowed and he gazed at the woman she'd known since he was a teenager. "You want revenge? Is that it, Kurenai?" he inquired, watching for her reaction closely.

But he didn't need to because Kurenai was straightforward and she didn't hide when she spoke her mind. "Damn right, Hatake. That too is in my plans, but Switzerland and stopping that SOB comes first than personal matters."

"How do you think robbing a bank will affect us?"

"Think about it, Kakashi. Without money you can't have a staff of employees at your disposition; without money you can't feed an army; without money you can't have much power, or at least, that's how Danzo is seeing things because he needs the cash to get people to rebel. Give a good amount to a person in desperate need and they'll do everything to get that money. Anything, and you know it. What Danzo is planing is to rob a bank, yes, but the question here is for what? He has money, but not enough to do whatever he's plan on doing. Do you follow me?"

The man nodded. "Danzo wants the money for something, and knowing him nothing good can come out of it, especially now that Suna's set on destroying out system here in Japan."

"It's not only Japan anymore."

Kakashi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Taiwan and South Korea are in touch with Suna and are causing problems for our allies in those countries. Do you understand where I'm getting at now? Do you see why I'm worried about this job in Switzerland?"

The white-haired captain's eye went wide. "Why wasn't I aware of this?! Where's Matsuri?" he demanded.

"Why don't you first calm down," the red-eyed beauty advised. "And you didn't know because a report came only a few minutes ago," she explained.

Kakashi closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "This will be a headache," he murmured.

"And there's something else..."

There's more? Kakashi almost said but decided to keep quiet. "What is it?" he asked instead.

Kurenai bit her lip. "It's about Toshira."

Kakashi's face softened. "So it was him, huh?"

The brunette nodded and felt guilty for feeling relieved when she saw it wasn't Asuma dying on her. Her fists balled up on her lap until her knuckled went white and she grounded her teeth. When she'd seen what Shino's masterpiece of bug had seen, she almost puked.

"His family will be well taken care of, and I guess I'll tell Nala about it as soon as possible..." he trailed off, thinking about how Toshira's wife was going to react when she heard her husband was dead, and her children...He didn't even want to think about it.

"No. You won't, Kakashi, I will," corrected the woman,

"But Kurenai-"

"It was my fault! I was the leader of this mission and it's me who has to tell her, it's the burden I will carry from now on. And don't try to convince me to do otherwise because I already decided." She took a breath and released it softly. "It's the only thing I can do for Toshira now."

There's was a moment of silence in which neither spoke though Kakashi watched his 3rd in command quietly. "What's going through your mind now?"

Kurenai frowned, displeased at how her captain could read her like one of those books he was known to be obsessed with. She didn't want to voice her thoughts in that instant though, but she knew she had to, even if what she was thinking sounded stupid and superstitious. She found the theory wandering around her head to be quite silly, and at the same time, lethal and scary. Gathering her words, she bit her ruby-colored lower lip again. "It concerns the person that murdered him. This person..he's something else. I can't explain it without being sadistic, but that boy...The young man that killed our friend isn't normal."

He waited for her to continue.

"I think that guy carries one of the nine demons."

* * *

_13 Minutes Before the Dawn._

* * *

Naruto was a little angry.

You know what? Scratch that. He wasn't a little bit angry, he was freaking furious.

At first, when he had divided from his comrades, he was full of energy and blind optimism. Thirty minutes later and he found he was running low on patience. Add fifteen more minutes to the clock and he was ready to explode. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't known for his patient nature; he was the total opposite of it. He didn't have the virtue of sitting down for five minutes. Heck, he wouldn't sit even for a full minute! Staying still ticked him off, just like when he was unable to find or get something, with that being the case now.

Why the hell had she run away? Again? Did he look like a person who wanted to kill her or something?

At the same instant the questions appeared, the blond teen smacked himself mentally for being so stupid. Of course the heiress was going to try to escape! Only a fool would stay where he was and do nothing to get away from the place he'd been forced to stay.

That girl did things he didn't expect though. Like, let's provide a few examples; 1.) kick, or -to be more precise kneel, his male parts out of the bleeping blue, 2.) knock Kiba unconscious,and 3.) even in her state of illness, the blue-haired girl had managed somehow get out of the motel room without Naruto, or any of his team members for that matter, noticing. It was odd, not the leaving part, but the fact that she had achieved her purpose without the blond realizing it.

He knew she'd left when he was arguing with the teme, but how? He wasn't a thief for nothing! He always noticed things, even when his idiotic demeanor got in the way. He was trained! How in hell had she done it?

And, for some reason, that wasn't what bothered him the most. Sure, he was pissed not only because he had to go out and find her for a second time, but something about that woman...thew him off. Naruto didn't know what the bleep it was, though he sure as heck wasn't liking it, especially because it, whatever the '_it_' was, irked him to no end.

Naruto mumbled and increased his speed on the roofs he was currently running on, taking care in not making too much noise and trying not slip from above when things got slippery.

If the heiress wasn't found soon, the mission was going to extend in time, and that was something Naruto wasn't willing to allow. He wanted, _needed_, to return to France. And the money he lacked was the one he'd receive once this mission was over.

Was that too much to ask? To return to the place where he'd lived for the first ten years of his life? He didn't think so, but the Fates seemed to be cursing him and keeping him away from his going back home.

Our young blond had lived in Japan for the last seven years of his life after he and his mother had fled the city of Paris after the murder of Naruto's father. Although his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, opposed to return to the place she had met Namikaze Minato, the father of her only child, Naruto opposed to forget that his father had been killed by people Kushina feared for some unknown reason, which was more than impressive, considering that the Uzumaki woman was impossible to scare off. Her unyielding attitude and firm determination always kept her alive and on her feet. She never ran away from trouble and was quick in solving conflicts that would've take a genius with awesome problem solving skills a week. The fact that she was obstinate in never going back to the capital of France only made Narrator's desires of finding out what really happened seven years ago to his family, and what could be so grave that his mother had to turn tail and run.

Naruto still didn't know all the details regarding his flight to Japan, but that only strengthened his resolve. In order to investigate and take justice for what that man, the one man Naruto could only remember in blurs, did to his family. He had changed Kushina, whom hadn't only lost the love of her life, but all life she'd formed in Paris; he had left Naruto without a parent and sealed a beast within the blond's interior.

Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head to get rid of the thoughts that invaded his mind. He couldn't waste his time dwelling in the past. At least, not now.

Concentrate. Focus. Do your job, he ordered himself as he watched from above with swift glances and sharp eyes.

Almost two hours have passed after the girl had puffed out of sight and still, nothing.

She couldn't have gone far away, he decided. After all, how much could a sick girl struggle to get away without first fainting or stopping to rest? It didn't matter whether you possessed a first hard enough to hit if you had no strength left whatsoever to hit with. Simple as that.

She had fever, for goodness' sake!

Suddenly, a shiver ran down the blond's spine.

"**Hey, kid,**" growled a voice that Naruto hadn't heard in a long time, causing the poor guy to almost miss his pace over the rooftops. "**If I were you, I'd hurry to find this human. Beware, for ****he**** approaches**."

The scene changed drastically before the Naruto's eyes and he found that he was no longer in the outside world, but in the inner part of himself where a sealed cage, filled with darkness, could be seen and where the voice he'd heard came from.

The floor was flooded with about six inches of water thanks to the plumbing pipes attached to the walls that were always dripping liquid at an agonizingly slow pace. The few lights in change of lit the room were glowing dimly, shaping many shadows that seemed to dance on the walls of the vast space, enveloping the demon the SOB had sealed inside the blond teen as a child.

Naruto gritted his teeth and raised his gaze to meet the bloody, red eyes full of murderous intent that belonged to one of the nine demons the world had forgotten.

"Kyuubi."

* * *

**A/N: XD So what did you think? **

**Anyway, things are not going smoothly for our Konoha agents and though we didn't see a fight today, I assure you some will be on the way in the following chapters, so please, don't burn me at the stake just yet. Another thing, HURRAY! Over 9,000 words (withotu A/N) **

**Please, I BEG YOU, Review because I have no idea if I'm doing this Fanfiction correctly! It only takes you a sec, (well, okay, make it THREE seconds) but your words make me happy x( So please, besides, everyone who reviews contributes to the next chapter coming out early! And earns an imaginary cookie :3**


	5. Chapter 4: Reunions

**\ **

**A/N: Just making sure I announce this: Jutsus/ Techniques will be bend to my imagination a tiny bit XD as well as seals & how they work.**

**And BTW, I'm sorry for not finishing this chapter earlier so therefore you ALL have the right to yell at me, insult me, among others; I got lost in the Universe of FanFiction and read until I got puffy eyes (yes, for a whole freakin' MONTH & 1/2!) I haven't published anything since June 16, (June 11 for this story) and I feel guilty...extremely guilty. T_T But let's see if you can forgive me with this.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and the rest of the characters don't belong to me (sadly). This is the last time I say this. .**

/*\

**Chapter 4:**

Reunions

**/*\**

Present

Japan 1990

7:37 A.M

_Inside Naruto's Mindscape _

It wasn't the first time Naruto found himself in his inside world.

Nope, he'd spent almost a decade training to keep control of the beast residing there to simply forget the place, so it was awfully hard not to be walking on familiar ground. Or in this case, familiar water. He'd spent countless of hours in some of the rooms that connected to the Kyuubi's chamber, and even though he hadn't explored everything due to its vastness, he knew his way around good enough to reach _him _even with his eyes closed_._

Ever since the blond could remember, his mother had kept him in mental training, discussing the issues emotions could cause and the benefits of holding one's feelings in check in dire situations to keep a balance of power between his demon and himself. Emotions like range and immense blood-lust were the most dangerous to have only because the fox's hate was so huge it reacted with almost every negative vibe. This caused the demon's container to struggle mentally, experiencing how his brain slowly came to an end, how it burned along with the three seals implanted on him. They consisted of the main seal and two subseals that helped neutralize the amount of chakra infused in his body and made sure to make the important seal worked as properly as possible. A ring of several keys had once surrounded the main seal, but after not only blocking the Kyuubi's chakra but Naruto's, was later removed and updated by the blond himself, so he didn't count it with the other three. Not that Jiraiya and Kushina knew...he hadn't want to bother them at the time, and after a month of not letting them know, Naruto had concluded that it couldn't hurt if he didn't say anything about the matter. After all, they were his seals and as such, he had to deal with them and not worry his godfather and mother.

The seals were all distributed in certain areas of his body and consisted of different designs that could be clearly seen without the wielder concentrating his/her energy in them, as it was custom for some other seals. One was placed at the low back of his head, close to the nape of his neck, concealed somewhat by his blond hair and was interlocked with designs that ran all the way to his lower back; he often thought of it like his vertical cord. More often than not, the seal pretty much kept his sanity in check. The next was atop his heart, preventing any of the fox's dangerous chakra to damage his circulatory system and also served the function of protecting his lungs; last but not least, the main seal, the largest and most complicated of the three, located on his abdomen, where all of his chakra reserves were held.

To have those seals continuously sucking chakra in all of those places with vital organs was painful; having to endure waves of pain throughout the rest of the body when the seals activated to fight any damage from the poisonous chakra of the Kyuubi really put him on edge.

The only good thing about bearing subseals? The pain only came when he tapped in his Bijuu's chakra, something he usually avoided, unless the effing fox was feeling naughty and sneaked- or forced, actually,- his own red energy down the blond's chakra pathways, just to see his dear jailor struggle. And the sick bastard sure enjoyed it.

The worse thing about said subseals? They weren't good enough to overpower the main seal, or to fix its malfunctions completely, but could help reach a certain stabilized balance. Sadly for Naruto, the two seals drawn by his mother and Ero-Sennin in weird-looking shapes were never sufficient, and with time faded away, leaving his golden skin bare once again, no longer marked by the special black ink.

Neither Jiraiya nor his mom knew why the subseals vanished in swirls into his skin; they could only assume that the main seal was eating them, consuming their purpose and thus forcing Naruto to take drastic measures once his 'tattoos' were gone to prevent anything bad from occurring.

Holding the Nine-Tailed beast was dangerous, and the seals that kept him inside Naruto weakened every once in a while randomly, never with a date in mind; sometimes they disappeared within three weeks, sometimes in half a year. The longest it'd taken once was a year and four months. And that was that. If the seals broke all at the same time, Naruto was dead. Along with everybody else, of course.

When the seal on his abdomen first acted up, Naruto had been caught off-guard while training with Ero-Sennin, and had almost lost control. Kushina had been there as well and made sure to keep the seal close (the old man unconscious on the ground, unmoving, thus unhelpful), which was a relief to everyone, but because of that incident, they were forced to move to another city. When the seal on his head disintegrated and Kushina was able to barely maintain it secure, the fact that she couldn't keep her son as safe as she wanted to led the red-headed woman into cursing made-up words that sounded more like gibberish than anything else and frowning for days in worry and despair. Naruto had at an early stage learned not to bother her when she was in one of those moods if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders, though his mother would never harm him; she had always told him it wasn't his fault the 'damn furry ball' was inside him.

Uzumaki Kushina wasn't cold nor neglecting when it came to her son, quite the opposite in fact. She was lovable and though with a temper, she'd sacrifice herself for Naruto in a blink without hesitation. However, she was tough and hard as nails when irked and hence worthy of her nickname, the Bloody Fury of Konoha, when she wanted improvement and didn't find it. Ask Naruto himself, he would know...(Shudder, shudder.)

Albeit trained emotionally didn't mean that Naruto didn't get angry and irritated easily, mind you, the Kyuubi had never taken over him completely. The three seals had never shattered all at once, but every time a seal weakened, Naruto's connection with his Bijuu got stronger...and then the torture of listening to the jerk in his mind began. At first, the damn thing had taken over his body while the blond slept in more than one occasion.

He was human, so cut him some slack. Humans couldn't live without sleeping! And self-control was hard to archive when you had teammates as stupid and annoying as Dog Lover and Sasuke-teme. It was a real fact that when you hanged out with them you were predestined to pop some arteries in fury and irritation. And Naruto, being brash, loud-mouthed, and easy to provoke, just to name a few, was quick to attack verbally and physically because of a mere comment (a.k.a, insult).

But being able to hold his feelings to a certain degree was awfully hard. Come on, he wasn't a rock without emotions!

In the end, it didn't matter if he'd gone through hell and back experimenting with different meditating styles and learning forbidden techniques and seals the modern world was no longer allowed to perform just to take the complete control of his mind, nor whether or not his mother's teachings had nearly left him a brain-dead, he was Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto and he was persistent as hell; he wasn't going to let a furry animal with long teeth (though they were very, very, very sharp teeth) to have a say over his body.

He had promise himself that he would keep walking forward, and he never went back on his word.

Naruto gritted his teeth and raised his gaze to meet the bloody, red eyes full of murderous intent that belonged to one of the nine demons the world had forgotten.

"Kyuubi."

Said beast let out a low chuckle full of not-so-pretty intentions behind his dark, gloomy cage, his white teeth gleaming like a beacon to demonstrate the smirk he usually wore. Apparently, his jailer's curt tone amused him to no end.

Ha-ha. Ironic, considering that his container wasn't finding anything funny right about then. His cheery personality fell (not that there was much of that to begin with), leaving stoic features behind, his eyes hard and cold.

"**It's nice to see your facade gone,**" drawled the animal, looking at him from under his giant muzzle. "**With that happy-go-lucky attitude of yours, I worry you've gone soft.**"

Naruto ignored his taunting words and stared back at him impassively.

"**I see you haven't forgotten me yet**,"the giant fox continued, blinking lazily. "**Your eyes are again filled with hate and disdain towards me; that hasn't changed since the last time we saw each other.**"

Naruto kept quiet and observed how the water rippled as his prisoner approached the very front of his cell and rested his big head atop his crossed forepaws. "Ha-ha," the blond replied, literally dripping sarcasm. "As if I would forget someone as bothersome as you. You're not that easy to miss, you know, fox baka."

The insulted fox growled loudly, the sounds bouncing off the walls, his early mirth completely gone.

"**How dare you talk to me like that, puny human? Is there no respect for the elderly anymore? What has the world come to!"** he exclaimed enraged, though Naruto knew his prisoner well enough to know that he was being completely false; the demon didn't care about anything in specific, and often mocked Naruto for being 'human,' 'weak,' and a 'mortal'. Though this time he guessed the fox's first sentence was filled with indignation.

Oh, well. Too bad.

Naruto scoffed. "My respect ain't free; you gotta earn it, and so far, you've done a poor job."

"**You insolent brat,**" drawled the fox.

You would have thought that after seven years of being stuck with each other, the two males would've reach some sort of agreement when it comes to, well, _everything_, but you thought wrong. Neither of the males in the sewer got along for a _lot_ different reasons.

Naruto should've been afraid. Extremely afraid. Scream-and-run-for-dear-life afraid.

But he wasn't. He was pissed off and his patience was wearing thin; he wasn't in the brightest of moods and had a freaking heiress to hunt down and bring to Konoha! He didn't have time to sit down and chit-chat with the most detestable of the beasts.

Naruto had at first feared him, no doubt about it; he'd often wet his pants after the countless of bloody nightmares infesting his mind when he was ten. Later on, he discovered the so-called 'nightmares' to be not only that but actual memories that belonged to the Nine-Tails. That had inflected terror as well, but Naruto was not a child anymore; he was experienced in seals and was almost an adult by law therefore beyond childhood. Being the container of the Kyuubi had forced him to mature and face reality, though he kept his original personality with his friends and family afloat.

The long exchange of strong profanities- (cough) excuse me, _greetings_,- between the duo began to give way to a glaring contest, neither of them ready to back down. For being a old prisoner, the damn fox was childishly rebellious, often banging in his cell and tugging the sixteen chains that held his nine powerful tails. Naruto knew he did that on purpose to bug him, and it sure as hell worked when the seal at the back of his head began to weaken.

What it felt like half an hour later, they were still staring at each other in complete silence, neither of them looking away until the fox smiled his creepy animal smile and asked, **"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"**

Naruto didn't avert his gaze, aware of the animal's tactics, and answered dryly, "You called me here. What do you want now?"

"**Haven't you missed me?**" the demon asked, mocking hurt and blinking his strange bright eyes, fluttering imaginary lashes.

"No." Naruto couldn't help but make a face of extreme disgust.

The fox roared with laughter.

"Seriously, what do you want? If you want to anger me, you're late," Naruto informed him through gritted teeth.

"**Ah, yes. The little vixen ran away when you weren't looking. The insect you call friend was too busy playing with you to notice her genjutsu.**" If the Kyuubi wanted Naruto's undivided attention, he had succeed. Not even the allusion he'd thrown on Sasuke was sufficient to distract his container.

"Gen-genjustsu?!" Naruto unconsciously took a step closer, his brows arched in surprise. He had not seen that coming.

"**Of course. Did you think she was normal?**"

_Not really...But yeah, kinda..._ However, the blond wasn't going to admit that to the beast, so instead, he shot back, "How do you know she used a genjutsu? That can't be right. You are wrong! Genjutsus are forbidden in Konoha! They can_not_ be taught to anybody!"

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes and stared at the direction of the sky as if asking why Naruto was so not perspective. "**You just answered your own question. She's not from Konoha! I can't believe I'm saying this again, but you are more stupid than I initially thought; you idiotic self never ceases to amaze me.**"

A big tic mark appeared at the back of Naruto's head, and though he wanted to avenge his dignity, he let the comment slide (again) because as much as he wanted to scream back some of his own opinions to the Bijuu, he restrained himself; he didn't have time to waste. He was going to get this little talk done and over with and then he'd find _that_ woman, drag her back by force if needed, and finish the mission he'd started a week ago. "Shut up and get to the point of the argument. You never call me here unless you want something. Spit it out already," Naruto ordered, his teeth bared into a snarl.

"**Haven't you noticed yet?**" the Kyuubi returned, his brows pulled into a deep scowl. "**She knows some of the techniques from the old Hidden Villages. But that's not why I called you here for.**"

"Wait, wait,wait!" Naruto moved his hands in an exaggerated manner in front of him as if regaining his thoughts. "The Hidden Villages? But those were exterminated long ago! What's going on? Why have you brought me here, eh?"

"**You're a dimwit, gaki. You really haven't realize it, have you?**" Naruto could only narrow his eyes till they were slitted in irritation. The fox groaned deeply in annoyance and shook his massive head like a disappointed parent. "**You're simply put, pathetic."**

P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C?!

All right, Naruto had had enough of this. The _Insult Naruto_ show was now over.

He pointed an angry finger at his demon, shaking with contained rage. "Listen here, Nine-Tails! I don't have time for your bullcrap! You never call me here for pleasantries!" Though now that he thought about it, the fox insulting him wasn't exactly defined as pleasantries...but whatever!

Naruto turned his back on him and walked to the exit. He'd go back to one of his training rooms and concentrate there to find his way out of his head without the Kyuubi dismissing him. He wasn't going to humiliate himself by asking the furry animal to let him go back outside. If that ever happened, then he would take it as a holy sign of an upcoming apocalypses.

"**Where do you think you're going, brat?**" Kyuubi called lazily.

"What does it look like?! I'm leaving!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder, not bothering to give the demon a second look. "Since you are not telling me anything useful, I'm outta here!"

"**He's coming,**" the fox said simply, a maniac grin curling his lips, his bloodshot-ed eyes big and glinting with dark amusement. Correction: _sick_, _twisted_, and _psychotic_ amusement.

Naruto paused in the chamber's threshold, a shiver running down his spine though he wasn't sure why the Nine-Tails words produced such a reaction out of him. He didn't turn to face the animal and feigned indifference (he'd have to thank Sasuke-teme for giving out free lessons once he got back). "Yeah, yeah. I got that the first time, thanks," he replied without an ounce of genuine gratitude. "Could you be a little bit more precise? Who is this _he_ we're talking about?" Naruto asked flatly, arms crossed and feigning an air of disinterest.

But the Kyuubi was too busy snickering to answer his question properly, if at all. Ugh, typical of him. He went on as if his container and him were tuned in the same sintony, though judging from the blond's murderous expression, they weren't. "**And make sure you keep an eye on your human, there's something...unusual inside her body, as I've mention before. If you don't watch it, things could get very interesting around here, if you know what I mean.**"

No, Naruto had no idea what the hell the damn fox meant. And his definition of 'interesting' was very contrasted with Naruto's, so whatever the fur ball was referring to couldn't be anything but bad news.

And here the blond thought the animal couldn't push his buttons any farther. How wrong he'd been!

Naruto fought the urge of ripping his hair out, though barely. "What are you talking about? Who's he? And what's wrong with the Hyuuga? WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS IF YOU BROUGHT ME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"**Why, you ask? Easy. I don't want to tell you." **Naruto felt a vein jump up on his temple.** "Wouldn't it be more fun for you to find out on your own instead?**" Never mind, make that a _lot_ of them veins with arteries included appear on his forehead.

"No!"

"**Hmph," **the Kyuubi scoffed humorously. **"I thought you'd say that. It's a good thing I don't value your opinion, then. You've kept me here for years, locked with chains and inside a cage. I see what you see, and feel what you feel, and believe me when I say that I won't be sacrificing my fun for you when I haven't seen something worth my time in five years."**

Naruto froze, all his anger gave way to a dull ache in his chest and his lips parted open in a startled gasp he was too slow to repress, his mother's classes thrown out of the window..

He knew what had happened five years ago...

Sweat began to accumulate below his brow though in fear or overridden hysteria he didn't know for sure. The traumatic experience was something he'd believed to be enclosed in some forgotten vault in the depths of his mind, and so far, it had been. Except the damn fleabag had brought it up from its dark cavern once again just to see if he could break him once and for all.

Huh. Kitsunes and their cruel mental games; they never seemed to get old.

Naruto clenched his teeth, and his hands balled into fists that trembled with helplessness as he remembered the blood and the screams and...He pushed the memory away, glaring at the dirty water below his feet instead of the animal at his back. He wasn't going to turn back and let him see his face when he knew the fox would only enjoy his tsunami of emotions.

As if sensing his distress and direct hatred, the Kyuubi's smile grew almost to the point where one might think his face would rip in half from the muscle strain but by some strange miracle didn't, his sharp denture exposed completely. **"It's always refreshing to see something other than training and endurance when it comes to you,**" the orange animal said, his voice taking a serious turn and his face settling into a hard frown. "**I'll just give you a little bit of advice, so be grateful, brat,**" he went on and looked directly into a pair of blue marble as his container whirled around in surprise.

Had he heard right? Advice? From _the_ fox? He couldn't believe it.

Naruto kept quiet and allowed the Nine-Tails to continue though he was having a hard time in not shouting at some very impolite things. He was sure the animal knew something, and the most frustrating thing about all that situation was that he didn't know what it was.

"**Beware**," the demon hissed, his only word echoing in Naruto's ears again and again. "**Stay away from him.**"

The blond blinked, taken aback. Okay, just what the hell had that meant? "Why are you telling me this?" he questioned instead, following along with whatever the demon had to say though the blond remained clueless about who the subject of the conversation was.

The animal closed his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. "**If you die, I die. And I also don't feel like hearings Shukaku's nonsense, anyway.**"

Before the teenager could voice out his next set of puzzling thoughts, his throat closed tightly and he felt the great urge to vomit his nonexistent breakfast. Damn the seal on his stomach! It always messed with his digestive system when he was invoked!

The humid walls of the Kyuubi's chamber began to fade before his eyes, and Naruto was aware of himself suspended in midair, the rush of the present coming back to him full-force. He barely had time to stretch his hands to catch the edge of the next building and avoid a steep fall. He'd been in the middle of a jump when the Nine-Tails called him.

He cussed furiously and swiftly heaved himself up with a single, flexible move.

The cold rain had began to turn into a soft drizzle, spraying Naruto's face and hair but was unable to wash away his confusion.

He groaned in exasperation, Kyuubi's words swirling like a crazy cyclone in his head. No wonder he hated to talk with the beast, even when he hadn't heard from him in years. The blond never got any useful information out of the kitsune until it was too late to use it. What was the point of telling him something he wasn't aware of if the fox twisted everything in incomprehensible riddles?

It was maddening.

"Tch," he bit out and reached for the black walkie-talkie attached to one of his belt loops.

Hearing the low, almost unnoticeable static, he clicked a button and said, "Keep your guard up, guys. It seems we aren't alone anymore."

**/*\**

_South side of Town_

_7:36 A.M_

/*\

The unfamiliar chakra signatures were quickly perceived.

Sasuke's head snapped toward where he guessed was the correct direction and his black eyes narrowed in thought and mistrust. He concentrated and focused his vision in a point lost in the distance where the sun was already making its entrance, his irises flashing a dark red for a moment as he molded chakra, and unsure of whom those energy signals belonged to but not stupid enough to just brush them aside. Were they allies? He had no way of knowing, but he was checking them up anyway; better paranoid than sorry.

He was atop of the tallest building he could find, which consisted of the water tower near the south outskirts of town, his sensory skills turned on and had search for the heiress's very own life force carefully but expertly through his range when he got wind of three foreign chakra essences. As for the heiress, so far he'd find nothing and that was beginning to make him slightly anxious, and Uchiha Sasuke hated it. He'd felt the light signature of her energy, one like he'd never encountered so far. It'd been cold and barely there, but after brushing her skin when he'd helped her out of the bedsheets that had kept her prisioner in the hotel room, he'd sensed warmth and light radiating with fear. She'd reeked of it and that only caused her vital energy to make itself known to everyone who was a Sensor. But the strange thing about it wasn't its odd texture and mark, what really was irking him was that it'd suddenly disappeared.

He should have known the 'gender' comment he spoke of while he first talked with Kakashi about this mission would come back to bite him in the butt. He had underestimated the Hyuuga for being a woman and now look at the consequences of his slip. She was off his personal radar and keeping quiet somewhere he couldn't detect her at.

It was frustrating.

More often than not he was good at finding people and he wasn't bragging (at least not too much) when he said he was good. Really good. Sasuke was aware of people who could occult their chakra but even then they left strands of their power behind, forming a leash he could grasp from. This black-haired girl with creamy skin and pale, lavender eyes, however, had vanished in thin air without a trace. Though he had had the strong conviction that she wasn't gone, not completely.

The heiress's corporal temperature was nothing to take lightly and the ill-looking purple bags under her eyes when he laid eyes on her made her face look bruised. It was obvious she wasn't in the best physical conditions. She'd been paper pale and exhausted, that even the dobe could tell. So she couldn't be far. There was no logic to the possibility of her running away as fast as she'd done it.

So why was it so hard to spot her? And how had she managed to escape his watch in the first place, even if he had happened to be fighting with the Orange Idiot?

Sasuke was many things; a jerk, a genius, a heartless bastard, a very good-looking ice prince...

A freaking dark emo.

But not dumb. Oh no, never. He was an Uchiha for a reason and said reason spoke of high intellect and excellent skill at everything that involved missions. He wasn't one of Konoha's best thieves for nothing and the fact that the heiress has suddenly dissipated out of existence haunted him. Where could she possibly be?

Kiba had taken West and dobe East, just as always. The Uchiha didn't know why he always got stuck with the southern regions; he hated he heat and often than not discovered that his area of search included nothing but dirt and abandoned streets everywhere he went. It was rather...irritating. And to make matters worse, this mission was no exception; his range was once again _empty_ except for the abiotic factors surrounding him.

The tower's old, light paint was chipped away in most places, exposing reddish brown patches of metal, rusty and in a state of decadence, leaked more water than it probably had inside and was unbalanced with the left side taller than the right. He disregarded all that and closed his eyes completely, his right hand forming a single hand sign to help his technique.

When Kiba got placed in one of his missions with the blond, it was the Dog Face and his gigantic pup who took care of any kind of tracking. Although feeling out for any nearby people had its pros most of the time for Sasuke, especially when stealing something as important as a national treasure, but that was another history.

Sasuke kept his own power suppressed as much as he could and hoped none of those new individuals had the brains necessary to figure a Konoha team searched for the Hyuuga heiress in a town far away from the city. And speaking of Dog Face and that dobe, the raven-haired young man prayed (not really) that his two idiotic teammates wouldn't rat themselves out by acting stupid and end up ruining the mission if the newcomers turned out to be enemies.

A spike of slight energy meet his senses sharply and he centered on it instantly.

"One..." he mused aloud. This one was average... Not unusual, considering that most people didn't know how to use the Forbidden Arts, but if they were weak, then that could also mean they were miles away.

"Two..." He tilted his head to the side, frowning lightly. _Hmm. This one feels a little stronger... But just as feeble as the other._

They were both dull, nothing special or concerning about them and in Sasuke's mind, he was already setting up the stage to formulate many different ways of disposing of the owners of such pathetic chakra reserves if/when they became a threat, but that was the least of his worries because as soon as his analysis concluded itself, a pulse of dark, cold chakra seemed to explode from kilometers away, rattling all of his senses. He felt his breath leave his lungs sharply when a cold, bloodthirsty killing intent clashed with his body like a powerful punch and sent ringing alarms throughout his brain. The sensation of someone kicking him on the head not only caught Sasuke off guard but also to stumble back, almost to the point where he fell on his rear.

It took him a moment to regain his composure and he was, not for the first time, glad none of his team members could see him. His breath came in raspy sips of air and his eyes were wide with shock.

What the hell was that he felt?

He'd never come across something like that except when the dobe-

Sasuke went rigid for a moment,but then his face fell into his cold exterior once again at his own thinking. A not very conforming question popped into his head uninvited: Can_ it be that this person is like...?_

He shook his head in a disbelieving gesture, his long bangs darkening his features. There was no way. None. Crossing paths with those sort of people at least once in a lifetime was uncommon. Extremely uncommon. The odds of finding a person like the dobe..., no, it was highly unlikely.

He once again felt a wave of a nasty scent wash over him and he thanked God above for having his senses numbed this time. He quickly retrieved the remaining of his stable emotions and thought that if _this_ was what he believe it to be, then his team was fated to get in some trouble because honestly, containers like the dobe were insane. Horrifyingly insane. As far as he knew, Naruto was one of the .099% that didn't go into a rampage every few seconds.

"Hn, that makes them three," he grunted, counting the final addition to the group of invaders not far off and closed his midnight colored eyes slowly, his lashes brushing his high cheekbones. That quantity made up a single team. "Interesting," he murmured to himself. He crouched and placed his elbow on one of his knees while his other hand poised over his radio to warn Dog Face and the Orange Idiot of the group coming their way (or at least they felt like they were heading in his direction, and like hell he would take any chances).

However, another voice – an annoying one, in his personal opinion- beat him to it.

"Keep your guard up, guys. It seems we aren't alone anymore," came the dobe's robotic voice.

One of his brows lifted by its own accord and Sasuke lifted the device to his lips without missing a beat. "What do you got on the eastern side?" he interrogated.

A moment of buzzing silence until a chirpy bleep announced Naruto's upcoming answer. "Nothing. She's not here, but we need to get out of this bloody town ASAP. The sun is rising! Civilians will be waking up in a few minutes."

The Uchiha blinked. Was that what was bothering the dobe? Huh. And here he thought he'd also felt the unwelcoming presence as well.

It was Kiba who answered next. "Nothing here either. Akamaru can't get hold of her scent in this damn rain!" he complained, giving his inform before Sasuke got the chance to ask for it. "Who else is here? Are we been followed by Suna again?" he demanded exasperated.

Sasuke took these questions as a cue to take control of the conversation. "I'm not sure yet, but keep your ears and noses working, both of you. There's three of them; two have unimpressive chakra reserves for what I can tell, but they might be hiding it just like us so don't underestimate the situation. They're still some miles off, perhaps fifteen or so; I can't tell an exact answer, but we don't have time to lose. Find the heiress _now_," he emphasized and cut the end of his line.

A chorus of determinant 'yeahs' echoed back at him and Sasuke didn't bother to reply. Instead, he looked at the horizon and scowled at no one in particular.

"Sasuke?"

The inky-haired guy still gave no answer. Letting the dobe talk without interrupting was always the easiest way of getting information without holding a real conversation. However, the fact that the blond called him by his first name actually made Sasuke listen with a little bit more of the usual interest.

"The third person...what about him? Did you feel anything, um, strange?" he asked hesitantly.

The Uchiha glanced at his radio with a small frown as if Naruto was there to see his expression. So the civilian excuse had been a flunk?

Nonetheless and oblivious to his leader, Naruto kept on going. "It's just that-" a low blow of air; a sigh. "- there's something wrong,I can feel it and, well, I was wondering if you got something else to add, since you didn't comment on the third person of the group?"

So he had noticed? Eh, maybe the dobe wasn't as stupid as he liked people to think.

With an humorless twist of his lips, Sasuke finally graced his friend/rival with words. "Very observant, dobe," he congratulated dryly. "You're right; there's something different with this...person. He has a lot of unpleasant chakra. Not something I'd like to have around."

"Uchiha, you don't like to have _anyone_ around," came Kiba's sarcastic remark.

Sasuke paid him no mind and simply ignored the prick.

"Hehe, Kiba's right," seconded the blond, though his glee was, to Sasuke's ears, forced.

_He knows something I don't._

"Hmph." Whatever; he'd discuss things with the dobe later. _After_ they found that girl, of course. "Be quiet and listen to me, pair of useless idiots," Sasuke growled into his transmitter. "Find that girl and drag her back if you need to, knock her out if you want, do what you have to, I don't care what method you use, just make sure you bring her in one whole piece and meet me in the center of town in less than fifteen," he ordered.

He could almost hear them both cussing him out from wherever they were looking at; they hated to follow his orders but had no option btu to suck it up and do as he said.  
"Hurry," he barked coldly and stood up, his endless apathetic eyes hard and staring at the direction of the new team. "Tsk," he spat and turned his back on the rays of golden light seeping through pink and orange clouds, the dark sensation of a foreign pandemonium building on his nerves.

**/*\**

_7:49 A.M_

/*\

She was doomed; there was no way around it.

Hyuuga Hinata sighed and closed her eyes briefly, her body limp and concealed by an old rectangular piece of wood placed against a wall. Her lids shook with weariness and her muscles trembled noticeably. She was tired, cold, and once again, wet. Her hair was undone and hung loosely all the way to her hips, smearing the tips in liquified mud. Someone –one of the guys she'd encountered earlier, she guessed– had taken her braid apart and changed her clothes. Hinata didn't dwell long wondering who had done it; she really didn't want to know.

Not only had they chose her attire but they'd taken her bag and the bandages covering her stomach and back away, bandages that she'd covered up with loose clothes. She just prayed they didn't find her again and asked the how of her concealed torso. At the same time though, she wished to go back and retrieve what was hers. She needed her pouch and its contents. Those, she couldn't leave behind. Her lips were dry and her stomach felt like an empty hollow, growling with starvation. She needed food, now. And another cover, not a piece of wood left to rot between a narrow stretch of two houses as well as a warm, clean shower, a soft bed and some medicine to calm her feverish state.

The Hyuuga heiress rested her cheek against the cool cemented wall at her right and let a single tear flow down her face.

She had known living in the streets wasn't going to be easy and she'd accept it completely, anything was better than to be in that house, but now with three people on her heels, well, she was starting to believe she'd never make it to the United States...or anywhere in particular except for this unknown neighborhood she had found herself at.

Two hours had come and gone and she remained still, too afraid to leave her spot and unwilling to risk getting caught if she ventured outside. Her fear was so enormous it poured through her pores in buckets. She just couldn't go back to the Hyuuga Manor. Reality, however, wasn't making it easy and to avoid a party of searches wasn't going to be easy to accomplish.

She had to fool them or go to the place she never wanted to see again. She wouldn't go back, she'd rather die than to do that. She remembered how she'd spent a lot of her energy casting one of those unusual techniques Hiyuku-san, the mother figure and the one of the maids, taught her before she disappeared mysteriously one night, never to be seen again. She'd say it would come in handy after she found the plumb-haired nine-year-old Hinata hidden under the attic one day, her back bleeding freely and fighting back whimpers of pain.

It'd taken hours of harsh training and long weeks to perform it on her own, mainly because she had to mold an energy called 'chakra' that according to Hiyuku-san everyone had but weren't aware of its existence, first to make the technique work properly and while Hiyuku-san's was blue, Hinata's was a shiny, unnatural purple. It had surprised Hiyuku-san, though Hinata hadn't, and didn't, know why.

Hinata's fists clenched slightly and she wanted to cry at the memory of her 'mentor' but she'd learned more than six years ago that tears and sobs wouldn't fix her problems. How was she supposed to get pass these strangers that all of the sudden showed up to disrupt her plans of freedom when she was dead on her feet was the dilemma she now had in her hands. What to do and how to do it?

The Hyuuga heiress had never pronounce a bad, foul word in her entire life. Right about now though, she wished she had the batteries to open her mouth and start cursing her luck. But being, well, Hinata we are talking about, that never happened. Plus, her throat felt parched and it was getting harder and harder to swallow without feeling discomfort. She raised a hand to her cheek and was surprised at how hot it felt.

She didn't have time to wonder if she was going to die of fever when a voice cut through the sound of dripping water.

"Damn fox," it snarled.

Hinata literally froze like a statue.

"Damn heiress for escaping. _Again_. Damn that teme for not sensing her vital energy."

She heard squishy footsteps passing by her refuge and her heart began to pound like crazy in fear. She backed away until she was fully pressed against the chilly wall, bits of rock biting her face and exposed skin,but she didn't care. She was too busy taking care of calming her panicky breathing to notice much.

"Damn Dog Face and Akamaru for their useless noses. Damn you, Naruto, for not being able to feel-" he cut himself off abruptly.

Hinata felt her pulse quicken. Had he discovered her? Did he know she was mere feet away? Did he-

"This area is clear," he proclaimed. A buzzing reply came back.

Hinata looked towards the sound and thought, _Radios_?

"_You sure?"_

"Yeah, but listen. Meet me at the center point we agreed on right _now_," insisted the guy.

A moment of silence and then, _"Idiot, we haven't find her yet. What makes you think we are going to stop looking just because you say so?" _came a different voice this time, rougher and more menacing.

"Shut up and just trust me, okay? I'm in the Eastern area and I've still got nothing, you neither I bet. I believe she went off into the woods. I say we look there until we find her."

Whoever the two boys at the end of the line replied again after a pause. _"I agree with the dobe. Let's meet now and get out of this town. The longer we wait, the farther she's away from our reach. I can't feel her in the surrounding area, so now, let's move it. Areas south, west, and east are now cleared. The only logical choice now would be to head north_," he said loudly but with a cold, detached tone.

"..._Fine_," came the grudging answer.

"Gotcha."

A funny bleep was emitted and the guy seemed to move again, if the sound of heavy sounds were any indication.

"Hmm," he murmured. "North it is, then. Hyuuga heiress, get ready because we're coming for you!" he chirped and was gone.

Hinata could have die of relief right there and then. She felt her worry diminish a bit. Then she remembered those guys had her belongings and she frowned. Everything she possessed was there... She'd never been a violent person but the only thing crossing her overused mind right then was to kick somebody's groin for stealing her things _and_ for changing her clothes when she was unconscious. Just thinking about it made her feel nauseated.

She sighed softly, she didn't have a choice, really. She'd have to forget about her bag and live without it or face being captured like an animal.

She waited for at least fifteen minutes for good measure for the guys to leave town to make her escape and leave as well, though in the opposite direction. Now that she knew they were heading up-state, she made a mental note of where _not_ to go.

Getting her courage, Hinata crawled out of her hiding hole and peeked around.

No one.

It was deserted.

She felt a weight ease from her shoulders and she smiled grimly.

Staying close to the walls and shadows, she made her way out of the alley, and into the open. She felt exposed and as if she was being watched, but who wouldn't feel like that in her situation?

She was nearing the end of the street, ready to leave the building she was using as camouflage when she heard him speak.

"I knew you were there, little heiress."

/*\

8:13 A.M

/*\

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't notorious for fighting women, though yes, sometimes knocking them out became necessary, especially when a certain policewoman ran behind his heels, giving chase with a very modern gun shooting away at him. The bullets had never really killed him (eh, the perks of having a beast seal were often useful though not worth in his opinion) but they sure hurt like a total b****.

Now, however, he was having a hard time deciding whether a shot in the butt was more welcome than the pain he was currently in caused by a small Hyuuga.

A lot of his body parts, put simply, _hurt_. Very much, if he may add.

He wasn't completely sure what she'd done, but whatever it was, he really didn't want to experience it again.

After scaring the devils out of her, she'd jumped back before he could grab her and, as if being a rag doll coming back to life, she'd get into a very strange fighting stance, her hands shaking but a look of determination in her wide pale eyes. She hadn't run, probably because she knew it wasn't going to help her much but she had whirl-kicked him in the face.

Naruto touched his bruised jaw tenderly, the Hyuuga passed out on his shoulder, his left arm twitching and burning, as he neared the center of town. She'd pressed on his nerves and left him immobile after she'd poked his eyes. Yeah, she had actually poked them and used the muddy ground as a sort of slide to kick his legs from underneath him!

Her fighting style was odd (hell, _she_ was odd!) and there was nothing civil about it. Nothing!

But he had to admit it wasn't half-bad. She knew how to play dirty, something that he hadn't expected from a rich, fragile-looking heiress. She was fast, too!

Naruto winced as his foot connected with the roof of a passing house and his knee almost buckled. Had he mentioned that the damn girl had kicked him there as well? And she hadn't slammed her hand against the back to push him to the ground, oh no, she'd lashed out with her left foot and strike the front of his knee when he'd grasped her forearm, almost snapping his leg in half. That woman was insane! Insane! In the near future, he wouldn't be surprised at all if she ended up killing him!

Naruto almost cried out as a current of burning pain erupted from his arm but he managed not to drop the indigo-haired Hyuuga from above a building and Sasuke would surely castrate him if he did. But whose fault was that? The heiress's for acting smart and refusing capture or his for being stupid and not defending himself?

At the end, he didn't have a choice but to use the seal of Two Points of Darkness, something he often used to knock people – and dogs– out until he unsealed them or they fought the seal and freed themselves psychologically. It didn't take much; that technique wasn't designed to last long or hurt the individuals wearing them.

But of course, Naruto being, well, Naruto, had had bad luck. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgot that the Two Points of Darkness (silly name, he knew, but he blamed that on his mother) consisted of squared-cut tags. And his tags were in his backpack. Out of reach. Why were they in his backpack and not in his pouch, he had yet to figure out.

Not wanting to hurt the girl who attacked desperately and who was by then breathing hard, he'd used the newest technique he'd invented for a situation like that one; the Third Eye Technique, something he'd been working on for two weeks before he'd set out to rob the Hyuuga Mansion.

Naruto glanced at the heiress and grimaced when he saw a tiny sun-like shape burned between her fine brows and somewhat covered by her bangs. Okay, so the seal wasn't fading anytime soon. Maybe after a few hours. Maybe until he removed it?

Aw, hell. He wasn't sure. This technique wasn't tested on humans just yet! Though the rat he'd tested on woke up four days later...

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Kiba demanded when he caught sight of his friend and the... not-so-clean girl in his arms. He was sitting with Akamaru at the accorded point, his legs dangling in the air, Akamaru's head on his lap.

"I sent her to sleep," Naruto answered, pointing out the obvious and missing the Inuzuka's true meaning.

Kiba almost smacked him but because the blond was carrying the girl and was standing somewhere he couldn't reach and Akamaru was keeping him where he was, he threw mental poisonous daggers instead. "Baka! She's a disaster! Look at her clothes! The old lady in the motel changed her not long ago and look at her now! She has mud plastered everywhere!"

Naruto tried to justify himself. "I didn't have anything to do with it! So don't look at me with your psychotic glare, Dog Face!"

"Why should I stop? I bet you threw her in pool of dirty water!"

Okay, so he had actually done that to apply the seal and plus, she'd pretty much did it to herself before he did,...but those were just details! Naruto's momentary pause gave Kiba an answer to his hypothetical claim.

Kiba's jaw clenched. "You did, didn't you?!" he barked/accused hotly. He didn't wait for Naruto to reply to that one. "What the hell is going through that head of yours? She's sick! You'll end up killing her!"

Ha-ha. Naruto had thought she would be the death of him, not the other way around. "You should be defending me, not her! She hit me!" he wailed.

"Good! You had it coming!" Kiba smirked smugly.

"But you're my teammate! You traitor!" Naruto yelled.

The Inuzuka only grinned wider. "Hey, I'm with the girly, here. She kneel you, she hit you, she punched you, she broke your nose – which by the way looks blue now – and she made you dislike her! She must be special, so I'm sticking with her, loyalty to you be damned!"

"You bastard!"

"You idiot!"

"Are you two done?"

Both boys looked at their left, and sure enough, there was an impassive Uchiha leaning back on a wall, arms crossed and eying them without emotion. He raised a brow

"Because we need to leave. Now would be nice."

"To put distance between Suna, right?" Kiba said, standing up and adjusting his coat.

Sasuke grunted in response.

The brunette turned to the Uzumaki with narrowed eyes. "Give her to me, you'll drop her-"

"No!"

Kiba blinked, and Sasuke frowned slightly.

Naruto held the heiress tighter. "I'll handle her."

Now Kiba was scowling. "What kind of game are you playing, Naruto? At first you didn't want her near, and now you want to take care of her?"

Naruto swallowed diligently and brain-stormed for a decent excuse. "I'm used to her style of fighting and attacks now. She knows some dirty moves and I know them too now so when she wakes up on the way she won't take me off-guard."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"But she's unconscious now!" Kiba protested. "You're a danger to her existence!"

You've got to be kidding me, Naruto thought indignatly. He was about to go for round two when the teme interrupted him.

"Move out," he ordered.

"But-" Kiba began.

"I _said_, move out."

Kiba made a face but didn't contradict him. "Come on, Akamaru," he said to the dog, who padded to him and shook his wet fur.

"We don't want to have an encounter with the enemy team if they get too close. Right now, they're some miles off still, but we need to get we get into a fight with them, it'll have to be outside this town; we can't endanger an entire population just because of one girl," Sasuke continued, casting an indifferent glance at the person in Naruto's arms, though inwardly he was questioning why he could now feel her light chakra when it had pretty much vanished before. It was puzzling. Just _who_ was this woman?

"Then let's go!" said the blond.

Sasuke frowned, still staring at the Hyuuga. Kiba watched him from the corner of his eyes with curiosity.

"Her energy levels are concernedly low," he murmured, his eyes running down her limp form.

"How concerning?" asked Naruto with his brows furred.

"I'm not sure; I'm not a doctor," the Uchiha replied in annoyance. "Hm. She needs food, though, or some sort of aliments now, or else she might not get rid of that stupid fever of hers any time soon."

"She's out so I take it solid food or our rations are out of the question?" Naruto offered.

Kiba blinked for a second before digging into his back kunai holster and taking a small leather-ly bag. He extended it to Sasuke. "Soldier pills," he explained at his teammates questioning looks. "They'll help her with a chakra bust and keep her system working until we find something, soup maybe, for her to consume."

Sasuke nodded, grabbed them, and reached for his own backpack. He took a bottle of tea out of it and threw both items to Naruto. The dobe almost didn't catch them, what with his hands busy and all. He looked at the pills and the beverage and raised his brows. "The heck?"

"Feed her," the teme commanded coldly.

"The heck?!"

The leader gave him a dirty look but otherwise decided that the conversation was over and it was time to get down to serious business. "Kiba, bring on the rear; Naruto, stay in the middle; I'll be at the front. Kiba and I will cover for you as you make sure she doesn't die."

Naruto wasn't sure if the bastard was exaggerating when he spoke of the girl dying but one never knew when it came to Sasuke. He glanced at the pale female in his arms and thought that surely her condition couldn't be that bad if she managed to hand him his ass not too long ago.

"But- the pills-" the Uzumaki began only to be cut off.

"Crush them, idiot. Why do you think I gave you my drink to help her wash them down with?"

Naruto scowled. "That's not what I meant," he protested to Sasuke's back as he set off northeast and toward the woods. "What about the after-effects? I don't think she's ever been exposed to soldier pills before. What if she gets worse?"

He heard the black-haired teen sigh. "I don't know, dobe. I already told you I'm not a doctor, but we don't have much of a choice, do we? It's that or let her to die of exhaustion," he deadpanned.

Naruto swallowed but said no more.

**/*\**

_The Forest_

_11:12 P.M_

/*\

"This is enough."

Sasuke's detached words veiled with command cut through the silent night, reached his teammates' ears albeit he spoke quietly.

The Konoha team had covered a vast amount of territory after setting off that morning, a Hyuuga Hinata very much out of commission (the poor girl had been shivering, courtesy of Naruto, but hadn't awaken), a very irritated Inuzuka, a cold-as-glaciers Uchiha, a unusually-quiet Uzumaki, and a Suna team chasing their behinds. Yup, in all, a very awesome day for them. Nothing out of the ordinary for the three agents. They had faced worse, and had fought with people of high caliber more than once. Of course, they'd come out with more than a few broken bones, loose teeth and war scars, sometimes even in coma for a few weeks, but that wasn't the point. No Suna was going to intimidate them.

Sasuke, being a sensory type of person, hadn't feel chakra since they'd left town, not even the sickening one. That was, in his opinion, good news and bad news. Good because things were always easier when his charge was safe; bad because he wouldn't have to fight anyone and wouldn't be able to prove his theory regarding the third signature. A shame, but not a necessary. He'll live.

Skillfully, the trio of humans and a white dog came to a halt, two of them to look at their team leader and await for the next set of instructions while the big animal stood as close as possible to his master. Uchiha Sasuke didn't prolong anything, and hated to wait, so he cut through the chase using simple and few sentences.

"We camp here tonight, no fire. Heiress in the tent and we set guard starting now. Eat and drink quickly and go to sleep," he ordered, dropping to the small clearing that had caught his eyes, which was nothing more than a clean patch of grass big enough for all of them and surrounded by bushes on every side. "We'll set off at five-forty tomorrow. We will arrive in a pair of days and get this over with."

The Uzumaki and Inuzuka nodded to show they heard him. The prior balanced the girl closer to his chest with one hand and took a scroll out of one of its holster tied to his thigh with the other and tossed it at Kiba. The tracker motioned for Akamaru to follow him and convoked the two tents the scroll contained as Naruto watched silently. Even the dog was quiet, the young heiress in Naruto's right shoulder still out and breathing somewhat heavily, though the only indication of that being the up-and-down movement of her chest. Not even the insects and nocturne animals in the surrounding area were making noise; it was almost as if no one dared to corrupt the concentrated stillness that had taken over.

It didn't take long to set everything down, and even less to consume the trail mix of dry fruit, jerky, and protein beverages each boy had packaged in their bags.

"I'll take first watch," the blond broke the silence at last, his voice deeper than usual due to not talking for long periods of time. He cleaned his throat softly and stood up, brushing imaginary crumbs off his black shirt. He'd taken the heiress inside the tent before devouring his not-good-enough-to-fill-his-stomach meal and placed her into a sleeping bag; thankfully, she hadn't stirred when he'd removed her dirty gray, bulky sweater (which left her in a white faded shirt) to make her more comfortable only to get a big surprise when he saw what was hidden underneath it. He was still having a hard time believe how a piece of clothing could hide such...assets. He wasn't going to deny he'd stared and suddenly wished for his beautiful mother to be there to 'smack' some sense into him. He'd enveloped her in thick blankets and left the tent as if he'd seen the devil himself, though it was quite the opposite.

Naruto quickly shoved the memory aside and focused in the here and now. "You two can sleep soundly all night, girlies, 'cause I won't be requiring your lovely company," he continued, teasing them, though the joke lacked genuine humor.

It was apparent something was bothering him, but neither brunette was a baby-sitter or the blond's mommy, so though they aware of something being up, they reached the agreement of leaving him alone without exchanging a single word. Sasuke, with all truthfulness, didn't care; he knew the dobe usually took care of his problems on his own. The Uchiha had learned that years ago; Naruto was strong and sufficient to get out of trouble, albeit the Uzumaki was still an idiot in the dark-haired boy's opinion. The tracker of the team, however, just wanted to throw himself inside his sleeping bag and sleep for years if possible; his _most_ _amazing_ team leader had run his team and dog almost out of chakra and stamina and Kiba was now drained. He could feel his legs muscles shaking with fatigue and had the strong desire to throttle the raven-haired Uchiha but knew he couldn't really blame him. Or at the very least, not completely. After all, Sasuke had wanted to stay out of Suna's radar and disappear given the chance, thus snapped at them to move it or _else_. The threat hadn't settle well with the chestnut-haired young Konoha agent but he wasn't stupid enough to stand his ground and fight his commander with a team of three unknown fighters stalking their rears, so he went along with the plan and warnings without snarling any of the comments that popped effortlessly into his head. The Uchiha hadn't allow breaks, not even to go to the restroom. The Inuzuka knew it was for the better but even so, in Kiba's judgmental book the Uchiha remained labeled as a big jerk and a slave trader, especially when Suna was involved.

Things between the Leaf and the Sand were more than tense. Kiba wasn't exactly sure why, nor did he know all the details but he wasn't blind. He may be many things, but unobservant wasn't one of them, much less when regarding serious matters. He was aware that the farther they were away from Suna, the better off they'd be. He hated to run, he despised it very, _very_ much, but he couldn't go against Sasuke's orders.

Sad sigh.

But oh well. Kiba wasn't going to let his opportunity of catching some sleep go, so he turned back to the present and didn't question his oddly-silent teammate. He spared Naruto a glance from the corner of his eyes and shrugged. "Suit yourself," was all he said before he walked towards one of the tents he'd set up.

"Where do you think you are going?" questioned Sasuke flatly with an air of pure indifference.

Kiba stopped, confused by the stupid question. It was obvious where he was going, why was the arrogant dude asking him? Either way, he answered sarcastically, "To get some sleep, genius Uchiha"

Sasuke eyed him for a moment before he spoke, the ironic remark ignored but not forgotten. "We aren't sleeping in the same tent with the Hyuuga," he stated dryly.

"What? Why not?" Kiba was getting annoyed. Where the hell were these rules coming from? What was the Uchiha's problem now? First, he'd refuse to go to the inn not ten minutes behind them, had stopped them from refilling their water when they reached a little village, and had proclaimed 'no fire tonight'. Was he now taking the liberty of telling him where to sleep? This guy was seriously taking his position as leader beyond the limits. "There's only two tents; I'm not sharing with you and Naruto if I can help it. I'm going to sleep where I can find some free space."

"You can't. You'll sleep in the same tent as us." The 'us', Kiba assumed, was Naruto and the Uchiha himself.

"What?! No way." Alright, screw his last thoughts concerning the Uchiha; Kiba could so go against his orders.

Sasuke stared at him impassively. "You'll do as I say."

"No, I'll do as my brain says. There's no way I'm listening to you guys sleep again. Both of you snore!" he accused, his index finger pointing at him and then at the blond teenager behind him to add effect to his proclamation.

Naruto decided to butt in with his own opinion before the 'snore' word sank into the teme's brain and Kiba ended up killed by a furious outlet of killer intent from the Uchiha. "Let him go, teme. That way we'll have an extra eye watching over her."

Kiba thought that was very reasonable and grinned over at the blond for his brilliant comment and support.

The Uchiha didn't appreciate said comment and stood his ground. "That's why _you'll_ be taking watch tonight, dobe. Don't make me repeat myself."

"You're impossible!" the Inuzuka exclaimed. "What's wrong with staying with her?!"

"She's a girl."

Kiba looked at him sidewards in disbelief, not understanding where this discussion was going. "And?!"

"And we don't stay with girls," was the grunted response, a razor-sharp edge in Sasuke's words. It was clear the 'leader' had no intentions of telling the Inuzuka to step back peacefully again; he was going to use force if he needed to.

Kiba scowled openly, his eyes in slits and glowering. "What the hell are you talking about? Last time I checked, women and men populate the planet, Uchiha. And I don't want to get bitten by some of your pet snakes here outside, so if you don't mind," with that said, the Inuzuka entered the tent.

Akamaru watched warily how Sasuke's eyes narrowed before his prideful self concluded that he didn't like it when his orders were ignored or questioned and went after the Inuzuka.

Things were about to get ugly.

Naruto, meanwhile, ignored them both and jumped to the nearest tree branch to sit and keep guard.

In other circumstances, he would have gladly joined the fight and challenged Kiba-baka and Sasuke-teme into a friendly spar, but tonight...he just didn't feel like it. All of his energies were still intact and his body refused to shut down and sleep. It was an odd sensation; he had the chakra and stamina to move mountains and yet..., here he was, doing pretty much nothing with his eyes glazed over.

He felt worn out and his emotions jaded.

His head spun with his recent conversation with his demon and he wondered who this Shukaku dude was not the first time that day. Was he so strong the Kyuubi wanted him far away? If so, what powers did he posses? What techniques and what kind of training had he gone through? But in all, how did the fur-ball know him? Had they met before? Was that why he'd warned him this morning?

Ugh. All those inquiries were driving him to the verge of insanity and the worst thing was that he wasn't getting anywhere. After his conversation with the beast. Naruto had been busy capturing a girl and carrying her all the way to the current place.

His reunion with the Kyuubi had led to meeting the Hyuuga heiress once again and she'd forced him to use of his seals to put her to sleep. She had yet to wake up and the fact that she hadn't was beginning to worry him.

Ugh, another thing to add to his headache. The Hyuuga heiress was also playing a part in this.

There was something about that girl...something...Dammit, he didn't even know what it was, but it sort of threw him off!

The blond Uzumaki almost ripped his light hair off just by thinking about it.

He couldn't understand how a petite Hyuuga could get on his nerves so much! Something about her...was so annoying, so bothersome, so..._weird _andcomplicated he wasn't able to describe with words. And for Naruto to dislike someone at that extent took time and a very heated conversation. The heiress and him hadn't exchanged many words, though, but he still felt like he resented her, as if she had been guilty of something and he was restless because of it.

No, that wasn't exactly right, he didn't resent her, it was more like that something about her bothered him greatly but he wasn't sure what. Maybe because she had hit him and not once, but several times, not too gently and like a savage! Yeah, that had to be it. The heiress had pretty much kick his sorry self twice in a spam of four to five hours and that had caused his sudden dislike. She had killed his dignity as a fighter using only taijutsu, after all! How was a man like himself supposed to feel? His ego – and something else- had been crushed!

Naruto's eyebrow twitched and he pursed his lips, the strange noises of discussion between the teme and the Dog Face coming in through one ear and leaving trough the other without much meaning, just a distant gibberish.

Hmm. Though now that he thought about it, she had won just because he'd let her. He wasn't weak and a part of him wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible. That dark portion of himself wanted her far away from him and to never face her again. The sensation of ants running and dancing down his skin like drunk insects and accumulating in his stomach wasn't something he wanted to feel everyday; it made him uncomfortable. Said feeling only intensified when she was near. At first, when he'd encountered her in that dark alley asleep on a trash bag, he'd ignored it mainly because, well, a girl was sleeping outside the pouring, cold, October rain! What kind of person would just leave her there to die of pneumonia? Naruto didn't have a mother for nothing, and said mother made sure her only son grew up to be a gentleman. An illegal, thievery gentleman but a good guy nonetheless. So even if Naruto had been oblivious to the identity of the bulk he'd encountered, he'd decided to help and tell the 'guy' he'd assumed at the time to wake up and go home before getting sick. Yeah, and then he was rewarded with a very hurtful punch to the face. Yahoo, how appropriate. External injuries and welcoming (not) reactions aside, Naruto wasn't left with too much time to meditate on the ticklish sensation with a touch of electrifying flavor added to it heating his stomach, where his seal was located. It had just been thrown aside to deal with later. Okay, he was lying. He hadn't really focused on it when he caught hold of her eyes. Her lavender, mercury-like eyes with pink, kissable lips.

Naruto froze when the thought of Kiba not only being the only perverted guy in the team came sneaked into his mind. (And no, Sasuke didn't count; that guy must've been gay or something because he never looked at a girl twice. . It was weird considering that he was almost eighteen. Eighteen!) Naruto shook his head a little before picking up where he left off.

The thing is, yeah, half of him said it didn't want to have anything to do with the heiress. Alright, big deal.

However, his other self...wanted to...take care of her.

_"Let me go," she whispered when she finally stopped moving. "Please, I beg you, let me go."_

_The boy opened his mouth to respond, but no words made it pass his lips. His expression showed his immense surprise. Naruto stared at the heiress, his goal and the aim of his mission and closed his mouth, forming a firm, thin, stubborn line. "I'm afraid I cannot do that," he said with apathy, averting his blue orbs, as if he couldn't bear to see the look the heiress was giving him with her own lavender eyes._

_"Why not?" questioned the girl, still trying to regain her breath. She was lying underneath him with Naruto's right hand holding her by the wrists. The rain continued to fall, cold drops of water seeping through his clothes and running down his face._

_"That doesn't concern you."_

_"Let me go," she pleaded again in a broken voice, her expression pained._

The young woman's eyes had pleaded with him as lightning crossed the furious sky, and he'd almost give in to her request. Her eyes had looked so soft, sincere, and scared he'd wanted to wipe all of her dread and put her in a safe place. And then her tear-stained face when he'd picked her after their second fight made him feel guilty and like the most horrible person inhabiting the planet.

No, Naruto shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek. His other self was insane, oh, wait a sec, both halves were demented but still. Naruto didn't know the heiress with midnight hair and was going to keep it that way. Having less bonds with people was always better than to make them and then see the people you once knew walk away. He would complete his mission and that was it. Not like he was planning on talking to the brunette anyway. Sure, he had to protect her from all harm while in the mission, because with her in harm's way, the mission itself was screwed and he would never get to live for his eighteen birth-day if Kiba and Sasuke both pounded on him with their furies united to beat him to pulp for the first time in history.

"_Let me go_," the girl's words echoed like a whisper in his mind. Now Naruto was really beginning to feel like scum once again, then something in his brain clicked.

Pity!

Whatever feelings of remorse, restlessness, and sense of responsibility were just formed out of pity, Naruto concluded with a nod.

Pity because she didn't want to go home after running away and because he was going to be the man who'd forced her back. Yes, that was it. He only felt guilty and like French trash because he was forcing the strange girl to go back home.

It was just that. Pity.

Happy for having his thoughts cleared, Naruto turned towards his friends only to see that no one was there and that the crescent-shaped moon had moved position. Now it hung suspended higher in the sky. Just how long had he been inside his head, puzzling everything out? It didn't matter; the blond was now officially turning his brain activity off service for the day.

Sighing with some resignation, he dangled his legs to the side and did as his duty required, his blue ocean eyes taking in the clearing's every detail through a blanket of smoky darkness. He wondered where exactly they were. He knew they'd covered a huge patch of land and was glad that the surrounding area was covered with forest. Trees and their shadows had always kept him and his team safe.

Unconsciously, his eyes fell on the heiress' tent and he stared at it for a good long while before a soft hum of electricity entered through his veins and made his head hurt and his vision blur around the edges. Realization of just where he was looking at sank in and Naruto scowled before directing his eyes somewhere else, pointedly trying not to glance back at the girl's sleeping place and failing countless of times before giving up and ogling it without shame.

_**...make sure you keep an eye on your human, there's something...unusual inside her body, as I've mention before. If you don't watch it, things could get very interesting around here, if you know what I mean, **_the Kyuubi had said.

_Something unusual inside her?_

"Tch," Naruto muttered folding his arms, tense muscles underneath his thermal long-sleeved shirt. He'd disposed of his black coat a while ago and now the chilly breeze penetrated his tan skin and played with his golden locks. "Damn fox."

Three hours and some patrolling rounds later, Naruto found himself sitting on the same spot. The whispering of dry leaves softly crushing under someone's weight snapped him to attention. Sensing the familiar energy radiating from his leader, Naruto's body relaxed instantly.

"Teme."

"Dobe."

Naruto eyed his friend-rival from the corner of his eye as the black-haired boy jumped from his lower place on the camping site to land beside him and asked, "What are you doing here?"  
One of the Uchiha's brows lifted at that as if calling Naruto stupid. "What does it look like?" he snapped back, looking at the silvery moon above their heads.

The blond pretended to think. "Looks as if you just went to take a leak."

Sasuke's glowered at him but otherwise kept immobile. "Stop being such an idiot and go to sleep. I'm taking your post now."

"I'm not tired; I told you I would take all the shifts tonight."

"I don't give a damn about what you said; you need to sleep and get ready for tomorrow. We'll pack early and you won't be sleeping until we go back to Headquarters."

"Aww, is the little Uchiha worried about me?" Naruto smiled evilly and mocked girly happiness with his best imitation of his mother's voice though if she heard about it, he was pretty sure she'd smack him with one of her frightening frying pans.

"Don't flatter yourself, dobe," the Uchiha grimaced. "You're not my type."

"But I though you didn't have a type, Saskue-teme~" Naruto teased.

"Why don't you shut up and disappear from my sight?" Sasuke suggested.

Naruto laughed.

"And by the way," the teme changed the subject of conversation. "I see the Hyuuga hasn't awaken in more than sixteen hours. What did you do to knock her out for so long? I took note of her state before but she only slept for a little while the first time. I was under the impression she'd do the same again."

"I sort of placed a seal on her," Naruto admitted, looking at the ground below.

Sasuke turned to him, his eyes slightly wide with surprise for a moment before going back to their normal size. When he spoke, his voice was cold and with a lazy drawl to it. "Let me get this straight; you branded the Hyuuga heiress." Naruto wasn't sure whether or not that was a question or s statement.

"I didn't brand her!" he protested with a insulted expression on his face. He pouted. "The mark between her brows should fade away soon."

"Should, or will?" Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"I meant will," Naruto quickly corrected himself.

"That's why you wanted to carry the girl all the way here," Sasuke guessed, knowing he was right. "Otherwise Dog Face would have gone directly for your throat and rip it from your body."

Naruto said nothing as he tried not to see the picture the teme had painted in his mind. He was well aware of Kiba's wild nature to know that if he so much as dropped his guard, the mutt would make use of it and do as the teme said. Of course, the Inuzuka wouldn't do that unless he found out...which he wasn't if Naruto could help it.

"Who knows, I might just have let him have his way," Sasuke smirked.

Naruto stared at his friend accusingly. "Bad friend, bad friend!"

The Uchiha's smirk only intensified. So the dobe was irritating most of the time, but he was amusing to have around. Of course, Sasuke would never admit it, but Naruto's company was one of the few the brunette could claim as acceptable."What type?"

Naruto blinked. "Eh?"

The blond could almost _feel_ his friend's black eyes rolling at his not-so-brilliant response. "What kind of seal did you use? Was it the Two Points of Darkness this time?"

"Hehe, not really..." he trailed off, hoping the teme would leave it at that. The teme did _not_ leave it at that.

"Then?" the Uchiha prompted, hating to force the answer out of his friend but needing to know just what the hell he'd done. After a moment of not getting an answer, Sasuke began his phase of Stare Holes Through the Dobe and, well, _stared_.

"ItwastheThirdEyeTechnique," the Uzumaki rushed out. The sooner he got those creepy eyes off him, the better off he'd be.

Sasuke scowled. "Speak slower, dobe."

"It was the...Third Eye Technique," Naruto sulked, aware that death was fast approaching.

"I've never heard you mention that one before," Sasuke frowned, oblivious to his friend's discontent or just ignoring it. "When did Kushina-sensei teach it to you?" The last of the Uchihas was known for never giving people their corresponding honorifics, but Kushina, and sometimes Kakashi, was an exception to the self-imply rule of rudeness.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "She didn't, actually." The raven-haired teenager waited for the blue-eyed blond to continue. "I made the formula a few weeks ago." Stare Holes Through the Dobe part two began. "It's a prototype," he finally confessed reluctantly.

Big mistake.

In slow motion, Sasuke turned to face him completely, and let me tell you, words weren't worthy enough to grant his threatening maniacal expression justice. Through gritted teeth, he demanded, "Is that why she hasn't woke up? Because you implanted a prototype rune on her and don't know how it'll react on her?"

Ooh, Sasuke-teme was too smart for his own good. And for Naruto's as well.

Naruto felt the waves of wrath coming his way and found it wise to back away and dig into his sleeping bag. Like, right now. "Oh, would you look at that! My bed is calling my name! See ya, teme!" and before Sasuke could grab him by the neck and violently cut his air supply, Naruto was gone and he wasn't going to go after him and waste time, so the Uchiha crossed his arms and keep watch, murmuring about idiot blonds and their stupid fuinjutsu. If the heiress didn't wake up by tomorrow, Naruto was going to be so dead. Sasuke knew Kushina-sensei was a very good seal master – or in her case, mistress – but Naruto didn't have her years of experience and if he'd put the heiress into an accidental coma...

"Naruto," Sasuke groaned and smacked his forehead.

/*\

**A/N: Wahoo Chapter 4 complete! It got so long I had to cut a 1/3 of the original chapter off (because seriously, who wants to read an almost 19,000 word chapter!?). I'd dare say you'll get to see the rest at the beginning of Chapter 5. We'll see how it goes. And now...REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I really want to get to 20 before posting the next chapter! Besides, the bubble with the word Review looks oh so tempting to click on...Trust me XD. And if you just wanna flame me with your unyouthful flames...fine, those are welcome too. After all, I'm a writer. **


	6. Chapter 5: Red Hot & Blood

**Chapter 5:**

**Red; Hot & Blood.**

_Japan, 1990_

_2:37 A.M_

_**.**_

_**.**_

It was well past midnight, and the bar was empty.

Or, well, to be clear, almost empty.

A girl of about seventeen years of age made her way through the tables, cleaning them with an old rag with fast, circular motions, murmuring the lyrics of the last song she'd sang on stage that night.

She wiped the sweat forming on her brow and breathed heavily before grabbing one of the tall bar stools and turning it upside down to slid it atop of the now-clean table. Another one down, one more to go...

"Ino-chan, honey," a over-sweeted voice called out.

The girl, a red-headed teenager with blue eyes, looked up from her work and turned to watch how a woman, of perhaps twenty-five, walked towards her with a big smile, a thick, yet fashionable, coat hanging on the crook of her right arm. Her blond, almost white hair was curled and ran down her curvy figure in a cascade of waves, sharpening her features. Her wide, pupiless eyes looked even more dilated than usual.

Her tone made Ino's eyes narrow suspiciously.

Her boss never talked to her in such a manner, much less with honorifics, except if she wanted something. She only barked orders and seduced men into doing things she wanted, so that had Ino wondering what the hell she was up to now.

Ino didn't give a reply, and by the way Shion's body moved with little balance, it was obvious she was a.) drunk, b.) high, or c.) a combination of both.

Ino went for the latter.

"Ino, sweety," Shion said again, her large, fake eyelashes batting coyly. She was obviously expecting the rookie of the bar to get down to her knees and carry out with whatever demands the older woman was about to direct.

Ino couldn't help but raise a single, platinum blond eyebrow covered with red eyeliner in inquiry. "Yes?"

"Would you be a dear and close the bar today?" she asked innocently, like a child asking for gum, barely suppressing the genuine eagerness veiling her request. "It's just that, I'm not feeling well, you see, and the other girls already took off..." she tried to convince Ino quickly, though said red-headed hadn't utter a negative.

Ino sighed loudly, frowning in mock irritation. "But Shion-san," she decided to play along. "My family is already expecting me! My daddy won't be pleased if he learns I stayed here two hours after my shift."

"But Ino-chan," the blonde pouted childishly, drawling the 'a' in chan to add a wailing effect. "I really am not feeling good. Everything seems to be swirling." As if to show solid proof, she took a step and almost fell flat on her face. "Please,please,please!"

Ino groaned in annoyance with the sole purpose of not letting Shion see that secretly she was feeling giddy with joy.

Still wearing a fake scowl, Ino nodded curtly, her lips in a tight line. "All right, I'll do it," she granted.

"Yay!" Shion squealed, clapping her petite hands in glee. "Thank you, Ino-chan!" she said, throwing her a ring of keys and leaving faster than Ino thought possible in her state.

Ino caught the keys in mid-air skillfully and stood there, rag in one hand and heavy keys hold together by a circle of thick wire in the other. She waited until she heard a truck motor pull away and drive so fast the wheels screamed.

A triumphant smirk slowly formed on Ino's beautiful face. At last! The annoying woman was gone, she thought, trying very hard not to call her something else altogether. And I got the place to myself! Sighing happily, the young Yamanaka tossed the keys up only to catch them in mid-air with an agility and switness she hadn't shown moments before. Leaving her post, she headed for the door that entitled with the sign of "Employees Only" at the back of the stage.

From there, it didn't take her long to reach her boss's office. Oh no, that wasn't going to be hard at all. That was merely a child's game and Ino was neither an infant nor stupid, but she knew how to play.

_And playing games is what I'm good at_, she thought satisfied, searching for the right key that would give her entrance to Shion's office without creating much of a fuss. She eyed the smallest one, silver colored key, and then another to the left, this one bigger and noticeably older and overused.

The hard part would be to find the documents she desperately needed and fool the cameras that were supposed to keep vigilance over the inside of the bar.

Oh well, she thought happily. The cameras are long gone, so just one more obstacle to overcome.

Ino had been watching the security system for days now, and it didn't take much of her skills to take control of the recording devices hanging on top of the ceiling, nor the invisible ones found in the walls and certain areas no one would ever think of looking.

She had to admit though, Shion was cautious when it came to illegal importation of drugs...but even so, still careless.

Stupid woman, she thought bitterly, remembering how her boss had forced her to clean the restrooms two days ago. To say that cleaning such a place was beyond gross and far from her area of experience would've been the understatement of the year. No one humiliated Yamanaka Ino, Yamanaka Inoichi's daughter, without receiving a taste of their own medicine, and cleaning nasty toilets with nothing but a small brush was something the blonde (though red-headed at the moment) would never forgive.

In the week Ino had worked in the bar, she had noticed many things about Shion. The blonde woman was smart and cunning when she needed to be, reckless and feral, but beyond stupid when it came to certain things, trusting Ino, a rookie in the job whom she didn't really know, was one of them.

Choosing the right keys,well aware that if she chose incorrectly a silent alarm would go off, Ino grinned when she heard the locked door give when she turned the knob.

She then reached into her wig and turned her radio on, plugging the small auditive device in her right ear, one she herself had designed and was proud of.

"All right,"she said spftly, careful not to let her voice carry though she was alone. "I'm in."

"That's my little girl," came the voice of a Yamanaka Inoichi. Ino beamed smugly, though her dad couldn't see her. "Now, enter the office and don't turn the lights on, keep them off."

"Rogger that," she replied easily as she stepped into the room. "Open or close?" she fired swiftly, referring to the door.

"Close. You won't be using the same path twice, my little violet."

"Let's get to work then," she said, all business.

"Go to your right and touch the second wall by the bookshelf. You'll find the outline of a squared four by four door."

Ino did as she was told, and found the thinnest line she had read about in the last report that same day.

"Spotted it. Now I'll have to deactivate the-" she was cut off by what she saw. She frowned, thinking.

"Daddy...?"

"Yes?" came the instant reply.

"What are the chances of the circuits guarding the door to be dead?"

"They are dead?"

"Well, they certainly don't seem to be working."

A moment's pause on the other side.

"Just make sure they don't work or carry any electricity within and proceed with caution," was the command.

Ino took out what looked to be a toy of some kind out of her high-heeled boot, but in reality it was an instrument to measure rage of voltage. Taking the end of a wire, she used her tweezers and connected it to the expensive device. A moment later, the yellow instrument flashes with a green answer: 0.000

"All clear," she said. "I'm going in."

Silence, which she took as confirmation.

Ino took the steep flight of stairs down to the cellar, a cellar kept apart from the other ones she'd been, as an employee, allowed to go in.

The dark shaped of a desk and big sacks of something stacked atop of each other was all there was. The room was small to go unnoticed by everyone, but not small enough to hide several pounds of cocaine, Ino thought in irony.

"Okay, then," she murmured to herself and put her years of training at work. "Where was that box again?"

Minutes later, she found herself with said box on her lap, a piece of the wooden floor removed to reveal a hollow, metallic-coated space where the documents she wanted were. Or were supposed to be at.

To her rage and surprise, there was nothing.

Ino stayed there in disbelief, her hands shaking and her knuckles turning white from the exertion she currently was putting on her arms. All of her hard work for what?! Hours of busing tables, of bearing drunk men, of wearing stupid clothes that had no fashion sense whatsoever...for _nothing_?

She cursed loudly, not caring if her father heard her through the carefully crafted device,

When had Shion taken the folder out? Ino had made sure to tail her in and out of her office when she wasn't out singing, her own implanted camera on and tracking every single one of Shion's moves in her absence. Could it have been today?

No. Shion hadn't taken anything with her today, she had only carried her coat...

Could it be that she hid it there?

No, that was impossible. Or not so much. Her special camera would've been able to catch that, though.

A thought struck her then, a light bulb turned on over her head and she felt like smacking herself, or more specifically, the person who had gotten in before her. The dead circuits securing the door upstairs should have clued her in, the alarms she had expected had never wailed, and the outline of the 4X4 door leading down the cellar had been too easy to find.

Just who the hell was stealthy enough to go around her and her father's networks and security systems without getting caught at once and succeed in getting out with the documents she required to complete her mission?

Ino cursed herself again with every creative, colorful names she could find until she remembered that she hadn't got a report about the camera's video in the last hour. Could it be that there was something useful in there?

Frustrated, she rubbed her temples. So much for thinking this was going to be a simple task.

"Father?" she prompted almost hesitantly. She knew her father would have filled her in if he saw anything unusual happen, so how could it slip his mind not to warn her of the folder not being present in the box after all? This was odd.

Her father, however, didn't answer. Ino held her breath for a second, but there was nothing on the other side of the mic. Only the sound of static was heard.

An uneasy feeling began to form at the pit of her stomach and spread through her entire body.

Before she had the chance to call again or formulate her next move, strong arms wrapped themselves around her bare waist possessively without a second to spare, securing her arms to her sides firmly in the process and a pair of lips whispered, "Fancy meeting you here, beautiful," with amusement before those same rough lips kissed her neck and sucked on the tender skin.

Ino gasped, whether in shock, pleasure, or a combination of both, she didn't have time to decided because her reflexes were quick kick in and with her elbow, she landed a powerful blow directly under the jugular of this new uninvited guest. There was a startled yelp of pain and she managed to get free, the heel of her shoe stomping on the man's foot to add to his torture on the way.

Getting into her fighting stance, Ino faced him and struck once again without glancing at his features, her muscles coiling under her clothes with control. With a fast, deep jab under the man's ribs to distract him, she kicked the back of his knees to bring him down with precision, only to feel him catch her foot one-handed and easily overpower her. With a swift and nauseating flip, she founded herself staring at a hovering figure chuckling softly, her wrists pinned over her head and with two strong knees capturing her hips in a firm hold.

"Get off me, you bast-" her insult was cut short when a swift kiss interrupted her protest.

Her breath caught in her throat when they moved down to her chin.

Yup, pleasure and not indignation it is, then.

Snaking his arms around her, the man got up and put her down on her feet. Ino sharpened her eyes in the dim lit room and had to blink several times to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

A boy, head to toe dressed in black, smiled down at her crookedly with his eyes closed, a gesture she was more than familiar with.

"Hi there," he said casually as if he always showed up under a secret bar's basement, opening his black eyes and catching sight of her flaming red hair. And of all the things he could've say...what he said was: "Hmm," he hummed, one of his arms now free from his gentle yet firm grip on the blonde and rubbing his palm across his jaw in a thoughtful way. "You look hot in red," he began, ignoring the blood rising to Ino's cheeks. "But," he emphasized, lowering his head to touch his forehead with hers, "I like your blond platinum hair better. It's much more sexier. Especially when loose..." His hand sneaked all the way up her bare back to take off the bobby pins holding her wig in place.

Ino closed her eyes when she felt his head going farther down to capture her ruby-colored lips, feeling his warm breath so close to her...

"Wait a sec," she braked out of the blue when they were just a few millimeters away, looking at the brunette questionably and ruining the romantic moment. "What are you doing here?"

The black-haired teen groaned in reply. "Kiss me now, talk later," he whispered evasively and crashed his mouth to hers without waiting for her to reply, not forcibly but not gently, either.

Ino was more than happy to comply as she explored his all-too-familiar mouth, tasting him.

The guy deepened the kiss as he walked forward, causing Ino to go back as well until she bumped with the lower part of the desk. But that didn't stop the boy. Instead of parting away, he grabbed Ino's waist with both hands and heaved her on top.

"That's more like it," he murmured before Ino aggressively grabbed his face and kissed him again.

"Mm-hmm," she added in agreement against his mouth.

The boy moved his hand from her waist down to her hips and tugged her body closer to him. The blonde moaned slightly at the sensation of her legs falling asleep but didn't protest.

They came apart only to breathe, Ino wearing a face of surprise and the boy smirking smugly down at her.

"You've improved," she noted, touching her lower and bruised lip with her fingertip, breathing fast. "You better pray I don't find out you took practice lessons from someone, Sai, or I'll put you in jail."

Sai smiled, perfectly aware that if Ino wanted to put him in a cell guarded by the police force, she was well equipped to do so. "And you better pray I don't see the man who tried to put the moves on you tonight," he easily threw back, though with a spark of jealousy behind his words. "Or he'll regret it."

Ino snorted, remembering. "You saw that?"

"Indeed. No one touches my girl without me knowing it," he stated quietly. "You are mine, Yamanaka Ino, and mine to keep."

Ino was known for her independent nature, but knowing that this man desired her made her weak in the knees. She didn't confirm his claim, but didn't deny it, either. But at the end, not admitting that Sai was correct when calling her his didn't matter; she had a feeling the black-haired boy knew what he was claiming when he said it. "Tell that to my daddy, who is currently hunting your Organization, dearest," she informed him with a touch of sarcasm.

"Is that so?" he asked, all too calmly, though he knew that fact all too well. Yamanaka Inoichi was sure persistent. That guy, major secret agent of a hidden section of the Tokyo Police, really wanted to hunt Konoha and burn it along with all its members to the ground.

Ino's smile showed him her answer.

"Well, then, I guess I'll hunt him down in return for allowing you to wear such revealing clothing to a place like this," he said, looked at her sleeveless, midriff silver shirt that left her belly in full display, and her black mini-skirt that didn't come anywhere close to her knees; it was awfully short, exposing her well-developed long legs. He looked at her for another moment, his eyes drinking her in. "On the other hand, though...I'm also thinking of thanking him," he added as an afterthought.

"You can always speak loud enough to tell him, you know. He's not too far away from here," Ino said, smiling.

"I'd be a dead man, buried and forgotten, if your father hears me say something like that," Sai said, imagining Ino's father killing him instantly. He shuddered inwardly. Ino's dad was sort of scary, or so Naruto had told him. The poor blond had had the displeasure of crossing paths with the man, and had barely got away, but not without first exchanging a few blows. The fight had ended when Naruto was forced to use one of his 'secret techniques', paralyzing the man while he made a run for it as if his whole life depended on how fast his legs could move. Which, to be truthful, it did. According to his report later that same day, staying out of Inoichi's radar was the best course of action a member of Konoha could take if they didn't want to find themselves into an interrogation room and sitting on the infamous electric chair that was designed to turn brains into messy soup.

"I wouldn't allow it," the blonde said fervently, her brows furrowed over her intense, pupiless gaze. Sai might call her his, but between the two, Ino was the most possesive.

"Beautiful, you know who I am and what your father thinks of people like me," he reminded her. Ino casted her eyes down. "That's why I decided it was safe to keep your dad away from us right now."

Light blue eyes narrowed at him when a buzzing sound in her ear distracted her attention again, provided by her earplug. "By the way, did you do something to my communication set?" she asked, already knowing the answer to that particular question.

Sai's trademark grin said yes but he refused to give her a straight-out answer. Ino waited for his reply anyway.

"It was only to buy us a few moments together," he finally said softly to ease Ino's glowering gaze, planting a small yet sweet kiss on her cheek. He sighed in disappointment. "But it's about to start working again."

As if on cue, "Ino? Do you copy me?" her father asked neutrally, though she could tell he was panicking.

"And there goes our time," he growled huskily right inside her left ear.

Ino decided to let his remark go unnoticed for the time being and answer her father before he decided to break into the bar to 'rescue' his little violet.

"Sure do."

"Do you have it now?"

Ino visibly cringed and was about to say that no, she didn't have the folder holding the proves necessary to close the bar for the involvement of illicit merchandise when she sensed Sai running his hand up her thigh and then grabbed it under tenderly, touching her skin, and sending chills of pleasure down her spine.

Ino couldn't help but let a gasp escape.

"Are you alright?" came her father's voice, who had obviously heard her, concerned.

Damn this new technology. Sometimes it was way too perfect.

"Y-yeah, I'm good," she answered while fighting the stutter that had taken over her. Flustered, she looked at Sai to find him grinning like the devil he was with a expression that said, 'You are better than good'. Ino glared bloody murder at him, her cheeks burning with hot blood, only to realize that he had taken out a thick folder from under his jacket and was now waving it in front of her face, as if taunting her to snatch it from his grip.

Now, _that_ got her attention in a flash.

Her eyes widened until she thought her eyeballs might pop out of her skull. "Hold on, I think I got it..."

"Make sure it's the one, okay?"

"'Course."

Sai's mischievous smile became a full-out wicked grin when he saw her reaction, which silently asked him if he had the one thing she'd been looking for and the goal of her mission.

Sai nodded and Ino smirked at him. She'd have to ask him later how he managed to get around the security of the establishment before she did. And also how the hell he'd beat her in retrieving the information she desperately needed.

"Affirmative. Our aim has been reached," she told her father. "I'm going to get out and meet you outside in less than five. I need to take care of something really quick."

"Something?" her father echoed and Ino could picture him frowning from wherever he was.

Ino snickered mentally about what she was about to do, or to be precise, say. "I have to close the bar, not to mention I need to get out of these clothes and get mine back on," she said, rather innocently. "I mean, it's cold and I'm barely wearing a bra or anything underneath-"

As expected, her father cut her off with such surprising speed it should've broke a world record.

"Okay, okay! I'll wait for you here so make sure not to leave anything that might rise any suspicious to your person," he agreed in a single breath and he was heard no more. No doubt he was fuming and murmuring about disliking places where she had to wear an inappropriate wardrobe, blah, blah this, blah, blah, breaking someone's neck for using his precious daughter for this mission, even if that someone didn't have anything to do with Ino taking it up, etc.

"Got it," she was barely able to chirp back cheerfully when Sai's lips were once again on the move, this time kissing the corner of her mouth softly.

Ino fought down a gasp again and reached behind her ear to press a diminutive button that muted her side of the conversation.

"Sai!" she whispered nonetheless.

"Hm?"

"I know you love to play at getting caught when daddy is around, but for once, behave!" she admonished lightly. "When in a mission, things can get a little dangerous."

"I thought you liked dangerous, beautiful."

"Never said I didn't," she replied, caressing his cheek. "After all, look at my lover," she winked, "but being a little cautious once in a while never hurts anyone. Right?"

Sai stared at her, taking what she said seriously, and nodded after a second. "You may be right, but you are my drug and I'm the addict here," he reminded her, kissing her forehead. "So, it makes me reckless enough to come for you, even when you're undercover."

Ino looked at Sai through suspicious lashes. "And speaking of coming for me, how did you find out I was here? I thought you were busy stealing somebody's money," she semi-joked at the end.

"You know we don't steal," he said, referring to him and Konoha. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly," he amended. "We just take back what we think it's right, plus smuggle information, take care of killers, and-"

He was interrupted by Ino's chuckle. "I know what you do, Sai-baka, I was messing with you!"

Sai blinked visibly and then took on a thoughtful and contemplating look. "Messing with me?" he asked seriously.

Ino almost swetdropped. It was obvious the old, clueless, and unemotional Sai she'd gotten partly rid of still lurked inside the boy's mind. She guessed some things never went away, but she still found it humorous, albeit irritating when he went off about some guys' manhoods.

"And to answer your question," Sai began again, "I _was_ stealing. This bar lures a lot of people with cash every night. Pity you and your dear daddy are going to crash the business down. It's easy to pickpocket every drunk in this place; we could have made a fortune."

"It's for the best," Ino said quietly, hugging him close and pressing her cheek against his warm chest, getting lost in his embrace. "Trust me."

"Oh, I trust you. You've given me more reasons to trust you than the kisses we've shared, and that's saying a lot."

Ino felt her face getting hot once again. Typical Sai, gone to utter private things like that in the open without thinking twice.

"Also, I was on your area, so I decided to check things up," he added, running his fingers through her hair.

"Are you sure you weren't just stalking me?"

Sai smiled a genuine smile that made Ino melt, confirming exactly what she was accusing him of, but he said playfully, "Me? Never."

She squinted at him and he sighed. "I also have to go and help some of my teammates in a mission. I got a message from the leader a few house ago," he finally confessed.

"Oh? And you happened to pass by?"

Sai almost blushed at her teasing. He pouted instead. "I wasn't supposed to make stops but...this bar had an adorable, sexy woman and I couldn't resist."

She rolled her eyes, grinning with happiness. It had been more than two weeks since she'd last seen him and having him back was comforting. "Say what you want, Sai, but I know the real deal."

"You do?" he asked, his face a mask of mock surprise.

"Uh-huh," she winked again and pushed him away as she got up from the desk (as difficult as that was). She didn't want to leave his side just yet..."But I must get going now." She stood up on her toes, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and reached out to kiss him full on the mouth once more in a way that almost drove him mad. Her hands wounded themselves in his hair and the way her body was pressed against his own almost made him snap, kidnap her, and make her his for weeks to come. But he knew that his wish was almost impossible, so instead of knocking her out and capturing her with her father's police force chasing him throughout Japan (or whatever part of the world he decided to flee), he kissed her back tenderly and passionately, his hand sliding up her smooth leg, rising goosebumps in the process. He felt Ino react to his touch and smiled against her lips.

But all good things come to an end, and wonderful things even sooner, like some people (or in his case, books,) said. And true enough, Ino broke their kiss with a loud wet sound, candling his cheek and panting heavily.

"We'll talk later, all right? Now I need to go, I have forty-two seconds and counting to get out of here before my dad breaks the entrance's door and takes me out as if the building were on fire."

Sai laughed, a soft, male rumble that made Ino's stomach back-flip. "How do you know how much time you have?"

"I'll see you in a week from now at our usual place. And let's just say I can hear his side of the line and he can't listen to ours," she put it simply.

Sai raised his brows but said nothing, just pulled her into a quick hug and was about to kiss her good bye when she beat him to it and bit his lower lip, sucked on it for a second before pushing him away, and ran to the exit route her father was directing her to without Sai knowing it.

However, one thing he was certain of was that he was gonna make her desire for more the next time he'd see her, the way she was leaving him craving for her at that moment.

Ino, for her part, couldn't help the big goofy smile that drew itself on her face. Knowing that her lipstick was surely smeared across her face, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, but the smile remained.

She had promised not to fall for the likes of him, a thief and an outlaw, years ago and yet...here she was, having a relationship her father would most _definitely_ never approve of. The thought saddened her for a moment, but the tingling of Sai's kisses made up for that. As long as they were together, nothing bad would happen.

She nodded, confident, despite of the unconvincing echo of the thought.

She was the daughter of a very respected policemen and sergeant. He was a thief from the Organization of Konoha.

Yup. The perfect match.

What a messed-up world, a voice whispered sadly.

Ino ignored her inner voice and it didn't take her long to secure the building and make her way outside, twirling the ring of keys. As she walked by a giant pot with dead flowers placed by the back exit, she grabbed the pants and light-weighted jacket she'd stash there earlier and put them on over her current vestiment in record of time, ignoring the smell of the writhed plants. A piece of paper, folded squarely, caught her attention instantly. She picked the paper with slow fingers and could barely read the elegant manuscript that spelled her name.

You sneaky bastard, she thought to Sai in amazement.

She bit back a smile and placed it on her back-pocket for safekeeping; she would see what it contained at home, with her bedroom door locked and without interruptions. She wondered what it contained but held her anxiety in check.

And speaking of interruptions, the quiet buzz of a car began to reach her ears, snapping her out of her daydreams.

Then, her father's words saying, "I'm here," in her audible earplug was all she needed to make her way to the vehicle.

Ino squared her shoulders and masked her genuine emotions, hiding them behind a smug smile that she knew her father would mistake for happiness at finishing her mission.

A black, sleek car pulled over and stopped for her to get in.

She did as she was instructed in her ear and climbed in the passenger's seat.

She was received by a warm welcome.

"Excellent job, my little violet," her father said as Ino handed the folder over. "Wouldn't have expected anything less than perfection."

Ino beamed. "There's a reason why I'm your little girl, you know."

Inoichi chuckled and began to drive away.

"Not bad for a woman like you," a new, bored voice spoke from the back.

Ino's jaw clenched and a vein almost bursted open at the comment. She turned around in her seat and smiled at the jerk she'd known since childhood. "Why don't you shut up and keep your words to yourself? That would be helpful, thanks," she said sweetly before turning around and ignoring the guy's quiet sentence about troublesome women.

"I thought you were wearing a wig to conceal our blond-hair trait," his father commented, glancing at her quickly before placing his eyes on the road again.

She flashed him a smile and hoped it wasn't as nervously displayed as she felt. She had forgotten all about the wig. She hoped Sai had it. "It itched, so I disposed of it a while ago," she said, which was partly true; the freaking thing had itched like claw of hell, though she had planned to keep it for later emergencies. Who knew when you had to fake being somebody else again, right?

"Oh," was all he said to Ino's relief before he dialed a number in his phone. "Ibiki? Yamanaka, here. Yes, we got the documents, along with some proofs we caught on camera..."

Ino stopped listening in that moment because standing in the background, reflected by her side-mirror, was a guy's silhouette with his one hand shoved in his pocket and staring straight at her, something long that looked oddly like her red wig on his hand.

He raised his head, and for a moment Ino could have sworn she saw him smile before he turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

/*\

Two Days Later

5:19 A.M

The piano keys pressed softly under elegant fingers as Hinata watched from the threshold, mesmerized and afraid to move, her hands pressed tightly together at the highly happy melody that contrasted highly with the dark, almost sinister, atmosphere of the room.

"Mother?" she whispered uncertainly.

The song halted with a harsh bang as the woman on the bench slapped her hands on the piano violently. Hinata jumped a little at the unusual response, her heart hammering inside her chest almost painfully in fear, though she didn't know what she was afraid of.

Her mother continued to stare blankly ahead of her, her gaze consumed by something else that wasn't her daughter. She didn't turn to address the girl with the wide pearl eyes standing on the doorway, she didn't move, didn't react, just sat there, her back to the person who had inherited her looks.

"M-mother? Is everything okay?" the bluenette asked quietly, pushing through the dread that wanted to stuff her throat with cotton. She swallowed thickly, hating the sensation of goosebumps taking over her petite body.

The figure that was her mother didn't reply, her white kimono, the beacon of purity in that dim studio, hugged her generous curves and spilled down the floor in several layers. The tall golden curtains that were always pushed to the side now hid the scene outside the windows, giving away nothing, encasing both females like a cage. The small chandelier that hung from the ceiling didn't display its brightness, didn't turn on when Hinata try to power it up. Nothing. The only sound was her pounding organ rushing blood in her ears and numbing the rest of her senses.

"Hinata."

It was said softly, calmly, but it still cut through the air like a sharpened sword.

"Y-yes, mother?" Hinata prompted warily as she took a short step inside the room, her chest tight. This scene wasn't right, it wasn't _right_.

Something was wrong.

She felt fear claw away at her mind but this was mother. Why was she afraid? Her mother always protected her, never yelled at her. She was loving, caring, encouraging. She was _mother_.

"Come here."

That command made Hinata's blood run cold. Mother's voice was over-sweetened,...twisted, _dangerous_.

She felt her stomach drop with a heavy load of rocks and against the voice in her head screaming at her to get away, to get the hell out of there _now_, Hinata walked closer with tiny, unsure steps until she was a mere step away from her mother.

Her long indigo hair, so like her own, hid Hitomi's profile from view, shadows obscuring her gentle face and not been able to see it made Hinata's panic double. She looked down at her mother's porcelain hands and almost gasped, though her eyes widened, filling her face.

As if aware of her expression, Hitomi's fingers began to move softly, rubbing the white polished wood of the musical instrument, leaving fresh trails of dark, thick crimson behind. Hinata could only stare in horror as they slide down to the once-clean keys, now smeared with red liquid.

"Are you afraid of blood, darling?"

Somehow, her mother's caring voice didn't sound genuine. It held sin with an undertone of sick amusement.

Hinata's breaths now came in chocked, silent sips and her lungs protested by the lack of oxygen. Her chest tightened again and her lips trembled slightly. Unconsciously, she took a step back but her mother's hand latched out like a snake, grasping her daughter's wrists in a painful hold, making her hiss though clenched teeth.

Her mother's head was still bowed but her shoulders shook with mirth as she felt Hinata struggling to get free, her rapid takes of air, her wide terrified eyes.

How adorably _sick_.

The younger Hyuuga bit her lip when her mother's icy touch turned into a bruising one. She felt her teeth ground together when piercing nails bit down on her creamy flesh, drawing blood from the crescent marks Hitomi had created.

"Why are you afraid of blood, Hi-na-_ta_?" Her earlier facade now gone, Hitomi finally raised her eyes to meet her daughter's and what Hinata saw made her mouth drop and quiver in fear and shock as tears slide down her face.

"Mother," she gasped.

Hitomi smiled, almost deadly, and the wicked gesture didn't mix well with the rest of her. "Don't you like me dressed in red? Don't you think it suits me?"

Hinata's eyes grew in size to the point where she wouldn't have been surprised if they decided to fall and roll to the floor as they took Hitomi in, the cut on her throat, as if someone had tried to carve into her with a jagged blade, her empty sockets dripping black liquid and looking directly at her, even with the pale orbs gone, the crusted blood on the front of her kimono, the ripped cheek she hadn't seen until her mother turned around to face her better, the burn on her forehead, the dried, rotten lips.

No. This wasn't her mother. She couldn't be–

"It's your fault," the woman hissed venomously, interrupting Hinata's train of thought.

It was getting difficult for her to breathe but nonetheless, something inside her made her answer. "W-what?"

"It's your fault," Hitomi repeated.

Hinata stared at her even though her eyes wanted to leave what was in front of her and lock it away with chains in the depths of her mind. Or better yet, erase it and forget about it.

"It's your fault I'm dead."

The words were worse than a slap to the face and Hinata's world shattered in millions of pieces.

"You don't understand why?" Hitomi's hold on her became extremely hurtful and Hinata felt the traces of hot, wet warmth run down her arms and drop to the floor in soft taps as the only reply to elder Hyuuga's question was a loud silence.

"You don't understand!" she cried in desperation. This time Hitomi was on her feet, pulling Hinata close to her face. Hinata looked up, her tears blurring her vision and then the undeniable sound of a bone snapping cut through her hazy mind. In her stunned state, it took a minute for her to realize the sound came from her now broken wrist. Her mouth opened in a mute scream of pain.

"Suffer, Hime. Suffer," Hitomi snarled, grabbing Hinata's long locks of midnight blue and pulling her down to her knees with brute force. "Tell me how sorry you are," she demanded. "Tell me you're sorry! Say it!"

"M-mother..." Hinata clutched her mother's hand in her ow, trying to get free, but Hitomi's hold was made of steel, and the longer she struggled, the tighter the older Hyuuga;s grip became. "Let go," she whispered in despair.

"_You_ killed _me_. Why should I listen to you? _You killed me, you killed me_, **youkilledmeyoukilledme!**" Hitomi said slowly until the sentence became a mantra she couldn't seem to stop saying as she pounded the floor with her daughter's head. Hinata couldn't stop the screams this time and her tears came to the surface faster than before with each time her skull meet with the hard floor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she yelled, her being cold with sweat. She trashed under her mother's body, wanting to escape. Oh God, she wanted to escape and leave. This wasn't the mother she remembered. This wasn't her.

Her mother's hysterical outbursts drowned her apologies until she got tired. Hitomi's bloody hands released her hair, only to travel down Hinata's neck, bloody fingers pressing gently against her flesh. " Be sorry," she whispered. Hinata whimpered, her eyes shut tightly. She felt her mother's nails caressing the soft skin of her throat before they sank sharply, cutting her respiration tube, buried into her neck. "One day you'll be like me!" her mother screeched insanely, the liquid coming from her eyes fell down on Hinata's closed lips like black teardrops as she cried silently. Her body felt heavy, tired, and it hurt. Before she could sink under oblivion, she heard her mother's last words:

"_One day you'll be like me! One day you'll dress in blood!_"

|/*\|

Waking up to screams wasn't exactly at the top of his to-do list that morning. Hell, it probably wasn't even in the list to begin with.

Naruto jumped to his feet, disoriented and almost falling on his face in his rush, and headed for the heiress's tent, Sasuke right behind his heels ,and he could barely make Kiba's form descend from his post on a tall tree approaching at full speed through his blurry, sleep-deprived eyes. He knew he shouldn't have spend the whole night reading his Fuinjutsu scroll, but dammit, he had to take the seal off that girl!

One question ran throughout all the boys' mind; _What the hell is happening?_

They reached the tent, where a terrified Akamaru was covering his massive head with his paws, eyes wide and looking more like he wanted to flee than to stay but forced himself to become still. He'd taken a like to the young Hyuuga since the start, so much in fact that he had got between Sasuke and Kiba's childish fight the first night they'd camped in the woods, and surprisingly enough came out as the only victor, serving as a guard and protector (which meant he shot angry, defensive looks at Naruto every time the blond happened to pass by) to the unconscious girl, whose health was now improving thanks to a healer they had found in a small, rural town more than a day ago. She had advised them to let her rest and keep her warm, to stop their trip and take it easy until she was able to walk on her own.

And so the obedient boys had done as they were told, and no, the menacing almost demoniacal glare she had given them each in individually had nothing to do with it.

The Hyuuga heiress trashed on her sleeping bag, her long hair a mess, her new clothes wrinkled and rising above her stomach, exposing white flesh, her eyes wide and unfocused,crying out for something neither of the presents could see or hear.

Naruto's shock wore off when Akamaru covered his eyes, body shaking, and he reached inside the tent, pulling the girl's hands away from her head, where they had dug in and started to pull hair. He pinned them to her chest in an effort to stop hurting herself. "Heiress, hey! Wake up!"

The girl shook her head to the side, tugging at her imprisoned hands, her eyes panicked and unseen.

"Hey," Naruto tried to calm her down, his voice soft. "It's okay, you're awake now, ne?"

The hair at the back of his neck stood up to an end, but Naruto ignored the sensation of electricity numbing his five senses, something he always seemed to experience when she was close. Instead, he grabbed her hands with one of his own, engulfing her tiny ones in a firm but gentle grip, and raised his now-free tanned hand up to her face, cupping her wet cheek and brushing her indigo bangs away from her eyes and forehead with his fingers. His blue eyes flickered to the activated seal fading away, deep black ink slowly vanishing and he almost went limp with relief, thanking whatever god was watching over him for one less thing to worry about.

"D-don't t-take me back! Don't t-take me back!" the girl sniffed and threw herself into his arms, ducking her head on his chest and trembling.

Naruto fought down a gasp of surprise at the sudden action. His body was quickly covered in goosebumps and a warm feeling formed at the base of his stomach. His arms instantly held her closer, wrapping against her small waist and cupping the nape of her neck, absently letting go of her delicate white hands. The brunette sank into his embrace and tugged at his black thermal shirt, burring her face and taking in the smell of fresh cut grass and autumn.

They stayed like that until the Hyuuga's shoulders stopped shaking violently and her pulse went back to normal. Naruto brushed strand of black-blue hair, wet with sweat, away from her ivory neck without thinking.

He heard the tiny petite girl sigh, eyes weary, and the effect her breath penetrating through his shirt to his skin was almost shocking. He cleaned his throat softly and pulled back to look at her properly.

"You're exhausted," he noted. The seal must have fought her from waking up, which made him wonder what caused her to have such a violent reaction. Had the seal affected her senses or had her nightmare had really been that bad? "Sleep for a while, okay?"

The girl's lavender eyes widened. "N-no," she croaked from her sore throat. "You'll turn me in to h-him."

Him? Naruto thought. He looked at her with concern. She doesn't want to go back home...

The girl's lids were getting heavier, but she fought to stay focus. "H-he'll punish me," she whispered, blinking owlishly.

A shiver ran down the blond's spine. Somehow, his early thoughts about this girl being a bratty noble didn't sound true anymore.

"Hey, hey, it's all right, yes?" he tried to assure her again, wiping away her tears with his thumb, and pushing her down to her sleeping bag.

The girl looked up at him, eyes pooling with fresh salt water, searching his own cerulean orbs for answers, for honesty. "You w-won't, right?"

Naruto almost laughed at how childish she sounded but nodded and gave her a small grin. "I won't, I promise."

She still looked doubtful, but sleep was winning the battle, that much was obvious and she sighed.

"And I never break a promise," he added as he threw on removed his arm from her waist and grabbed her blanket, tucking it in under her sides to keep her warm.

The Heiress didn't say anything else and her eyes finally slide shut.

The blond thief observed her quietly for a while, his face one of confusion and uncertainty. "Akamaru," he called, snapping out of his thoughts as he saw her shiver. "Come here, boy."

The white animal poked his head into the tent, the rest of his body still out, his gaze falling on the bundle that was the girl with porcelain skin and whined softly..

"Stay with Hyuuga, all right?" Naruto instructed with authority, though unsure whether or not the trained dog would listen to him at all.

The dog gave him a wary look, head cocked to the side, but shrugged his shoulders and Naruto crawled out of the tent, giving Akamaru the chance to dash in and curl around the Heiress.

The blond exhaled in relief, running a hand through his mused hair and looked up to see the figures of the teme and dog-breath staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. Naruto frowned, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "What are you looking at?"

Kiba blinked out of his stupor and a sly smirk formed on his lips. "Eh, Naruto, I didn't know you had it in you," he commented with a perverted gleam in his eyes as if he'd caught the blond stealing cookies from the forbidden cookie jar.

Naruto felt heat rushing to his cheeks and he pouted, looking away to hide his sudden blush. "W-what?! No! I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"If you hadn't stuttered, I might have believe you," the Inuzuka teased, grin widening.

Naruto shot him a murderous glare. "What did you want me to do, eh?! Got a better idea?"

"Yes, actually," he immediately replied, looking thoughtful and naughty at the same time.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"You could have kissed her," he said nonchalantly but his eyebrows were wriggling.

Naruto almost expected his face to burn off by the fires of hell he was emitting. " Y-y-you perverted bastard!" he shouted, trying to save some of the dignity he didn't know he had lost until now.

Kiba just laughed at his reaction.

Sasuke sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

_Idiots. I'm stuck with two stupid idiots_, he thought in dismay.

**/*\**

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**A/N:**

**Man, I love writing Kiba XD.**

**Sorry for the late update, I'm getting lazy, eh? In my defense, school is a...well, I better not go there. Anyway, I thought I did a good job of introducing Ino and Sai to the story, ne? Cx Perhaps I wrote about them too long, but...HOPE YOU LIKE! On the other hand, NaruHina lovers, did you enjoy the little moment we had at the end? I bet you already were planning on putting my head on a spike if I didn't hurry with an update and honestly, I don't blame you. If you guys have any suggestions, let me know in a review. What do you think it's gonna happen next?!.**

**Oh well, see you next week (if time allows it and school suddenly decides to give me a break).**

**-September 15, 2013. **


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